Seeing Double
by creativia
Summary: After someone running frantically knocks him over, the last thing Izaya expected to see was a face almost identical to his own. He can't help himself to investigate who they are. / Delic knows that his brother Tsuki wouldn't make it as a fighter, no matter how strong he is. So, Delic decides to sneak them both out of the lab. (Orphan Black AU. Izaya and Shizuo alternates.)
1. Chapter 1 (The Start of Chaos)

**Author's Note:**

 **I wasn't able to tag all of the characters and alts that are significant in this story. I suppose I could list them. (Since there is alternating povs in this story)**

 **Hibiya, Izaya, Hachimenroppi, Celty, Delic, Tsukishima, Shizuo, Psyche, Sakuraya, Shinra, Ruby No Yubiwa,**

 **There might be more.**

 **(There are OCs.)**

 **(I thought maybe I should include a form of disclaimer):**

 **This story's T rating is for minor cursing, possible violence, and concepts. There shouldn't be any sexual content, although there might be some reference. This work is still in progress, so if anything changes regarding what I've mentioned related to the rating, I will make sure to address it probably in an Author's note.**

 **A/N:**

 **This is somewhat of an** _ **Orphan Black**_ **AU.** **There might be references to** _ **Orphan Black**_ **characters at some point in the story, but the focus of this story is** _ **Drrr**_ **characters and alternates. Even though this is inspired by the show** _ **Orphan Black**_ **, it will be very different, so for those who know the show don't expect it to be the same. It should still be interesting though. Knowledge of the show** _ **Orphan Black**_ **is not required to understand this story, although do let me know if you have any questions about anything.**

 **I have not dropped the other stories I'm working on. I am writing this while I work through the writer's block for some of the others, since I've been inspired with this one lately. This is my first time writing a story with the** _ **Durarara**_ **alternates, so I'm excited to write them.**

 **Feedback and constructive criticism is welcomed. Let me know what you think.**

 **I hope you like it.**

* * *

"Hey! Watch where you're going!?"

" _Excuse_ you!?"

"Are we not going fast enough for you?"

"Don't you know there are other people around you!?"

"Hey!"

Izaya's ears perked at the loud grumbling coming from slightly in the distance. He turned around to try to see what the commotion was about. Apparently, someone in a white hoodie with gold-colored fur lining (in a similar style to his own jacket) was running through the city seemingly careless of how many people they rammed into. Their hood was up, with their head bent slightly down, most likely making it difficult to see where they were going. Izaya smirked in slight amusement at the situation.

It was not that unusual to see someone running through Ikebukuro. After all, there are many different types of people there living different kinds of lives.

Izaya wondered what could be going on with that person's life for them to be so hurried now. Perhaps they are concerned about something seemingly ordinary, yet with a warped perspective of what's important in their life. The constant shoving could be simply because they have no care of the people around them. Not that unusual, but could still be interesting. Are they just selfish in the way people normally are or do they have some sort of highly inflated sense of self? Oh, there are so many possibilities that Izaya simply couldn't help but wonder about.

Perhaps their hurriedness was socially justified, and they are fleeing for their life. In Ikebukuro, that scenario is not so unheard of. With the yakuza, gangs, and supernatural happenings, there are many ways' one's life could be put in danger.

Maybe they simply have an anxiety disorder? Or they are experiencing some form of paranoia due to mental problems? The possibilities were endless. Despite how often Izaya has seen this type of occurrence in such a busy city, he found himself intrigued.

Although then, he was not even consciously aware that he felt a sense of familiarity about this stranger.

To satisfy his own curiosity and boredom, Izaya decided to mess with the person a little bit. He stood off to the side of the walkway and watched how far the rushing person was to himself. It may be juvenile, but seeing the already hasty person's reaction to his obstacle might make it worth it. Not that he would care if it was childish anyway. Nothing very entertaining had happened yet that day, so Izaya was slightly delighted, even for just causing a likely minor annoyance.

When he deemed them close enough, Izaya stepped right into their path of flight.

Despite purposefully standing in their way, Izaya still found himself startled when the other person collided into him and they both tumbled to the ground.

He groaned from the pain of impact. Thankfully, the other guy rolled off him almost immediately after their tumble.

 _Damn, he must have run faster that I originally thought._

Shaking himself from his slightly disoriented state, Izaya sat up and faced the man he purposefully collided with.

Of all the features Izaya expected to see, an exact copy of his own face was not one of them. Well, almost an exact copy that is. The only facial difference he could spot were gold eyes. Besides that, the resemblance was uncanny.

He gasped and stared at Izaya with wide eyes. Izaya presumed he had a similar expression on his own face.

They just stared at each other like that for a moment. His double gazed at him with scrutiny for a moment, before his face paled. The look-alike frantically stood up, almost tripping over their own feet, and took off again without saying a word to Izaya.

Izaya just watched after him for a moment, not quite sure how he was supposed to respond. It made sense that the other was shocked. Izaya was also startled from such an odd event. But, scared? That seemed a little bit dramatic.

As he began to regain his senses, Izaya stood up again, questioning whether he was sure of what he saw. The other citizens around him had thankfully stayed out of the way during the whole encounter. Whether or not they also noticed his look-alike, Izaya wasn't even thinking about then.

There was another detail he had noticed that many others would not have seen due to how small it was. A skilled socialite like himself however, notices even the little things out of the ordinary. Along with fear, there was a small light in his eyes of recognition. It was subtle, but Izaya was sure of it. Somehow, this dopple-ganger had recognized Izaya and knew who he was. That was where the fear came from.

How was this possible though? Surely Izaya would remember encountering a person who shared his face. Izaya got the feeling there was something else going on here, and that their identical appearances were not a coincidence. He was now curious to find out what that possibly could be.

A high-pitched repetitive beeping sound, with slightly varied pitches, caused Izaya to look at the ground.

A bright red flip-phone continued to go off from the ground right by Izaya. He picked it up, and looked it over.

How strange…who doesn't use a smartphone anymore?

Izaya flipped the phone open and checked who was calling. It was someone named Hachimenroppi.

 _He must have dropped his phone while rushing away from me._

Smirking to himself, Izaya hung up the phone.

Izaya doubted he would get much information yet if he were to answer that.

He then went to stand in an area with less people around. Once there, he began to scroll through the phone contacts. There wasn't a whole lot listed.

Hachimenroppi

Psyche

Sakuraya

Perhaps this wasn't his main phone? How interesting. After all, sometimes a person with multiple phones had something to hide. Of course, it was also likely that he simply didn't have many friends. Either way, Izaya was definitely going to research what this was all about. He flipped the phone shut, slipped it into his pocket, and began to skip towards the train station to Shinjuku, humming the theme song to some children's anime.

This was definitely going to be very interesting, and he couldn't wait to worm himself into whatever type of situation this was.

Little did Izaya know that he was already connected to it.

* * *

Hibiya normally did not run. Under normal circumstances he would consider running to be too peasant-like to do for a prince figure such as himself (since growing up, his parents let him call himself a prince). However, now, he was running of his own volition. Even a prince could experience panic. Typically, he would tell himself that a prince was too proper to panic about anything, but he couldn't seem to help it given the circumstances.

He had pretty much learned that everything in his life was not as it seemed. Even though he had been warned about some of it from his newly acquired "brothers", hearing it and discovering it for yourself were two very different things. Hibiya has lived a charmed life for the most part. He grew up in a mansion. His parents would give him anything he ever asked for. He even owned a magnificent horse named Alfred, who unfortunately he could not ride now due to how much attention that would bring to himself in a big city.

Since he had grown up in such a sheltered life, he truly had no idea how to react in this type of situation. If he were not so freaked out right now, he would have berated himself for not acting rationally.

Hibiya continued running for a while after bumping into Izaya, panting harshly as many thoughts raced around in his head. He was not physically prepared for this amount of running. Hopefully he wouldn't pass out from exhaustion.

Just as he was considering how to deal with his physical inadequacy, Hibiya found himself pulled into an alley by another, hidden from view.

Becoming even more freaked out, Hibiya tried to pull away from the arm that grabbed him and opened his mouth to scream. The other wrapped their arms tightly around him and covered Hibiya's mouth to muffle his scream. This caused Hibiya to struggle more frantically. It was to the point where he almost didn't hear the irritated sigh from the person behind him.

Hibiya was taken aback from such an odd response to his struggling. He then took notice of the sleeve on the person restraining him. It was the black sleeve of a jacket with red fur lining around the wrist. Realizing who it was, Hibiya stopped struggling and let out a sigh of relief.

Seeming as though they realized Hibiya stopped thrashing around, the other uncovered Hibiya's mouth. He let go of Hibiya and walked around him so that they were face to face.

For the second time that day, Hibiya came face to face with someone who was nearly identical to himself. Except, unlike earlier, this was a face he knew.

Hachimenroppi. His bright red eyes stood out against the pale pallor of his skin. Hibiya felt relieved to see them, even though said person was glaring at him with pure fury.

"You idiot." Hachimenroppi hissed. "I know I don't expect a lot of good from people in general, but I had hoped that at least you would be less irritating. Did you somehow forget how close your residence is to Ikebukuro? Were you even thinking when you ran through the city where you could easily run into Izaya Orihara and freaking Shizuo Heiwajima!? I know you can be deluded at times, but I thought even you would be more rational than that. Perhaps the only ones with sense in this group is me and Sakuraya."

Hibiya scoffed and held his head up arrogantly.

"Well, excuse me for experiencing panic from learning that my own household had no qualms about confining me to the mansion when I was not even aware of it. Even princes can feel such for self-preservation. How would you react to discovering that everything you thought you knew was false? It's not like I could feel content staying in a home where my parents see me as no more than a social experiment that they could gain praise for contributing to."

For a moment, Hibiya thought he won his case. However, Hachimenroppi's silence caused Hibiya to rethink what he had just uttered.

 _How would you react discovering that everything you thought you knew was false?_

Perhaps he should not have asked that. Hachimenroppi had been the first of them to discover the truth about their lives. He was the one to inform them after all. Plus, he had in the past hinted at not having a pleasant childhood. Surely his experiences were much worse compared to Hibiya's.

* * *

Celty was on her way back to the apartment from a job, when she heard an unexpected voice coming from an alleyway.

It sounded like Izaya's voice, but…talking to himself?

Celty always figured Izaya was insane, but she never thought he was _that_ kind of insane. Unable to help her curiosity, Celty peaked into the alleyway entrance, careful to keep herself hidden. What she saw made her glad she couldn't audibly gasp,

It was Izaya, but…twice? Two Izaya's!? Did he have some sort of twin!? But neither of them were dressed in Izaya's usual getup. She continued to watch.

The Izaya in black jacket with red fur lining was glaring at the other one. The other one in the white jacket was just staring at him with a hard to read expression.

* * *

Hibiya was not known for being a kind person. He was not one to really feel remorseful for things he may have said. He had been allowed to think there was no reason to be when he was a "prince". Yet, he felt like he should say something somewhat amending. Only, he was not accustomed to how to respond in such a situation.

He half-expected Hachimenroppi to lash out at him for being insensitive, and call him stupid again, but the other simply closed their eyes and sighed.

"Whatever, it's not like we can do anything about it now. You could have at least picked up the phone when I called you. It was annoying having to track where you ran off to."

"I…suppose I apologize. I do not recollect you callin- "Hibiya paused as he reached into his pocket for his phone, only to feel nothing there. Slight panic took him over again, as Hibiya checked all his pockets and looked on the ground for the missing phone.

 _Oh no._

"Hibiya…did you seriously lose your phone as well?"

Hibiya faced him again and winced.

Oo, he was _not_ happy. Hachimenroppi's face was pinched with irritation, and restrained anger.

"I…I do not usually misplace my belongings!"

"Well, apparently the prissy prince is a complete mess once his castle and crown are taken away."

Hibiya glared at him. The other was not exactly the nicest person either, but Hibiya still bristled at the jab.

 _This was no time to be bitter!_

"Well, I suppose most people would not see any significance if they found that phone. Do you at least have an idea where you might have seen it last? Maybe I can track it down later when you are not here to slow me down. You are terrible at staying under the radar. Then again, you did rarely ever leave that stupid mansion."

Hibiya did not even hear the rest of Hachimenroppi's rant as he thought about the last time he saw his phone. After a moment his face paled in horror.

 _I must have dropped it when I ran into Izaya Orihara. I was so freaked from seeing him, I did not even check to grab my phone before fleeing again._

He remembered what Hachimenroppi had told them about Izaya Orihara. This was _not_ good.

Hachimenroppi seemed to have caught on to Hibiya's dread.

"Hibiya…do you know what happened to your phone?" He crossed his arms and looked at Hibiya expectantly.

Hibiya gulped. Even though they were the same age, Hachimenroppi still somehow made Hibiya feel like a child fessing up to a parent. He prepared himself for the incoming lecture.

"Well…I may have dropped it when I collided with Izaya Orihara earlier." He said, not meeting Hachimenroppi's eyes.

There was a beat of silence.

"Izaya…. As in Izaya Orihara? The info broker? Who I warned you about!? You dropped your phone, that is connected to us, right next to the info broker who is highly skilled at gaining information from even lesser means than that!" He held up his hand as Hibiya was about to interject, closed his eyes, and took a _very_ deep breath.

Hibiya knew that this was bad.

Hachimenroppi rubbed his temples and clenched his teeth.

"I'll handle this I guess. I swear, sometimes it feels like I'm the only one actually keeping us alive. "

He glanced over to see Hibiya's tensed up face and sighed.

"Come on. You can stay with me for now I guess. It would be too risky to sneak you back in through the city, especially with Izaya out there. Just don't leave the apartment until I say that it's safe. We'll figure out what to do once we both get there."

Roppi pulled his hood up again to cover himself. He glanced over at Hibiya again, seeing that he hadn't moved since realizing what happened to his phone. Roppi rolled his eyes, and pulled the "prince's" hood up for him.

Roppi put on a pair of sunglasses, and then pulled Hibiya by the wrist with through the alleyway entrance that was hidden from the public.

* * *

Celty just stood there in shock for a moment, even after the duo disappeared through a hidden exit.

 _What in the world?_

Neither of the two acted like Izaya either. This was really weird. Were they crazy cosplayers like Erika? That wouldn't completely explain everything though, like their voices being the same as his. Plus, they weren't exactly acting like the cosplayers she'd seen in the past like Erika. The cosplayers were a lot of times over the top or portraying specific characters.

But, these two were being secretive in an alleyway. It didn't seem like roleplaying. No, the conversation sounded too real.

Just a crazy coincidence? She supposed it was possible, but what were the chances? For some reason, she had a feeling something else was going on here, but she wasn't sure why.

Was she just going crazy? After all, nobody else passing by seemed to notice the strange scene.

Celty shook her "head" to herself in slight amusement. She wasn't sure if a dullahan could even go crazy.

Strange supernatural things do happen in Ikebukuro.

The duo sounded so serious about whatever they were talking about. They mentioned Izaya, but it wasn't clear whether either knew him or just of his reputation. It seemed like it was more than that though.

If she was honest with herself, part of her felt guarded due to the mere fact that they shared his face. That alone was suspicious, but hearing them talk about Izaya made her reconsider her concern.

The one in the white jacket seemed afraid at the mention of him.

 _An Izaya look alike that is afraid of Izaya?_

Something was definitely up. She couldn't help but wonder whatever strange situation this was. She wasn't sure if she should even mention it to anyone. Mainly because she didn't know what to do with what she just heard. Shinra was the one she was most tempted to tell. He would most likely become interested and want to learn more about it. She wasn't sure herself what to do.

If Izaya did get ahold of white-jacket's phone like they seemed to think, he would probably begin to dig into whatever this was. Izaya was already a nosy person. Surely seeing his own face on another would make him even more curious than he usually is. He'd probably want to know where his look alike went after their encounter. Celty felt like she shouldn't say anything though.

She didn't know those two, but she knew Izaya. Who knew what he'd do to them? Just because he was interested, didn't mean he was okay with someone sharing his face. He might have already done something to cause them to react that way. If one was afraid of him, there was probably a good reason. Besides, she felt no obligations to help Izaya.

Although, she didn't know for sure he was in the wrong. Izaya did tend to not be on one side, so it really could be either way. Even if he is a jerk.

The pair's intentions towards him were unclear. The one with the red fur-lined jacket said something about 'taking care of it'. What was that supposed to mean? She couldn't retain enough from the conversation to know for sure. Is that concerning enough to look into?

She shook her head to herself and got back on Shooter. It really wasn't her concern to warn him of anything. This was Izaya after all, not a friend. It was always best to not get involved with him if you can help it.

So, until she felt she needed to, Celty thought that maybe she shouldn't do anything about it yet.

Celty knew she was doing a lot of assuming from watching only part of a conversation, but they didn't seem like they were bad guys. The feeling she kept getting from them was that they just wanted to survive. A dullahan's intuition could possibly be reliable. She wouldn't know for sure.

So, with that internal resolution, Celty rode off to the apartment thinking about what she had witnessed.


	2. Chapter 2 (Escape)

Delic underestimated how crowded the streets of Ikebukuro were. He was hustling through the city as quick as he could, dragging Tsuki along by a tight grip on his wrist. Yet, he still bumped into a lot of people. Tsuki was panting behind him. Delic gritted his teeth and tried to push through to the best of his ability. He knew that Tsuki was not much of a runner, but they couldn't afford to slow down. They needed to get as far away from that lab as they could.

Tsuki had always been a sweet and sensitive kid. Delic knew he wasn't a fighter. But, he also knew that because of Tsuki's strength he would forced to become a fighter by the people in the lab. He couldn't watch that happen to his brother. Tsuki became distraught when he broke something on accident, he couldn't imagine how much worse it would be if the lab researchers forced Tsuki to cause damage on purpose. Plus, Delic feared what the examiners would do to him once they saw that Tsuki was not much of a fighter.

Delic had to get them out of there. He'd always made sure to look out for his brother.

They needed to find a hotel for at least one night. But first, they had to stop at a store to get a couple of things.

* * *

Tsuki felt overwhelmed. He had never been around so many people before. Every time he bumped into someone, he wished he could disappear into his scarf. He closed his eyes and bent his head down, trying to focus on continuing forward with the pull of his older brother's hand. He trusted his brother. He knew Delic would keep them safe.

Suddenly though, he couldn't feel the fingers around his wrist anymore. He tripped forward slightly and looked up.

He couldn't see his brother in front of him in the crowd anymore.

 _Where was he?_

Tsuki looked around frantically, but couldn't see any sign of his brother. He couldn't see any blonde hair from the people surrounding him.

"D-Delic!?"

Apparently, the pull of the crowd had been so strong that they were forced apart and swallowed by the mounds of people.

He continued to look around him, bumping into more people.

Air seemed harder to inhale as panic began to overtake him. His breathing began to speed up faster than it should.

 _What do I do? Can I even keep running by myself? How do I even go forward without Delic!? He's always the one with the plan. Delic is probably worried. Has he come looking for me? Has he even noticed that we got separated yet? What if something happened to him? What if something happens to me without him here? Has the lab people sent someone after us yet?_

Before a full panic attack could overcome him, Tsuki bumped into a sturdy wall-like person, causing Tsuki to fall backwards on his bottom. The hood that had been covering his head fell down from the impact. Tsuki groaned from the harsh landing and winced when he felt the sidewalk crack under his hands.

He shyly looked up to apologize to the other, but gaped at the face he saw.

* * *

Shizuo wasn't sure what he was looking at. The kid now on the ground in front of him was like the spitting-image of him when he was a teenager. Even the blonde hair, which isn't common in Japan. The only difference was that the kid's brown eyes had a red tint to them.

 _What the hell?_

Neither one of them seemed to know how to react. They just stared at each other, frozen in shock. It felt as though they stayed like that for a while.

Some of the people bustling around them stopped to see why the infamous "beast" of Ikebukuro was just standing there. Some of them gawked when they noticed the similarities. There were some whisperings and fingers tapping on phones.

That seemed to snap them out of it as the kid blinked and slowly glanced over the people staring at them. He clumsily tried to push himself up with his hands only to immediately fall back again, whimpering from the unnatural landing on his arms.

Shizuo remained in a daze, not quite registering what he was seeing. Yet, he found himself bending over slightly and holding his hand out for the clumsy boy in front of him.

Said boy glanced at his offered hand warily before reaching up to accept the hand. Shizuo pulled him to his feet. He stumbled again even after standing, so Shizuo held his hands against the boy's shoulders to stable him. The boy shyly looked up again and Shizuo removed his hands once the kid was steady.

Shizuo felt a sense of familiarity looking at the kid, even though he was sure that he had never met someone with the same face as him.

The kid opened and closed his mouth a few times as though trying to say something. Before Shizuo could hear what that might be, he heard,

"Tsuki!? TSUKI!"

The boy gasped at the shout, and looked around to see where it came from. When the shouting got closer, he looked over to see the approaching man.

"Tsuki! Thank goodness, you're alright. I knew I should have held on tighter. Are you alright? I'm so glad I found you."

He was wearing a white jacket, with the hoodie practically covering his face while he was facing away from Shizuo. The other man continued to ask the boy questions about his wellness, and fawned over him like a mother would to her child. It couldn't be anything like that though. The guy looked way too young to be the kid's parent. He looked maybe nineteen.

The boy, apparently named Tsuki, wasn't responding to his questions. The man stopped, as though just noticing this.

"Tsuki?"

When Tsuki glanced at Shizuo again, the other man seemed to finally realize that someone else was there. He turned towards him and-

 _What in the actual-_

There stood another guy whose face seemed identical to his own. He could even see the blonde hair under the hood now that the guy was facing him. They were wearing gray sunglasses though, so he wasn't sure if that was where the resemblance ended or not. They of course looked surprised as well.

The other didn't stay frozen like Tsuki had though. He was mouthing something to himself, that looked like it might be the start of the name Heiwajima.

 _Are these two impersonating me or something? What the heck is going on!?_

Shizuo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The other man's eyebrows raised slightly at this. He cleared his throat and grabbed Tsuki's hand without looking away from Shizuo. His body posture stiffened, as though preparing to go on the defense, but he nodded slightly to Shizuo. It seemed like a respectful gesture, although the tightness of the other's face was still clear to Shizuo.

Then, without saying a word, the other man turned around and took off, dragging Tsuki with him.

Shizuo was momentarily bewildered before realizing what just happened. They just took off rudely without saying a word. And, they both looked like him. Yeah, maybe stuff happens, and people just look-alike, but they were acting weird about it. It didn't sit well with him.

Shizuo growled before running after where he saw they went.

"Hey, you two! Get back here!"

The formerly thick crowd immediately made more space when they saw who was running by in a rage.

The older one sped up his pace, practically dragging Tsuki on his feet. The crowd stayed parted, so Shizuo could see them as they grew farther away.

 _Damn, they're faster than I expected._

The only other person who could outrun him was that damn flea. The thought made him even angrier and he growled louder. He felt tempted to grab something huge and throw it at them. The irritation of being fled from was increasing. But, the younger one kept looking back at him every so often, lip trembling in obvious fear.

Shizuo clenched his jaw tightly along with his fists in restraint.

No, this wasn't the flea. He didn't want to throw heavy objects at them. He just wanted some frickin' answers. Was there anything wrong with that? Yet these two ran away, leaving him with annoying confusion.

He did begin to gain on them, and was almost at talking distance.

He didn't even hear the crowds chattering or the dings of cellphones all around him.

As they moved past the crowd, there were fewer people around them.

"Would you stop running dammit!? I just want to talk!"

For some reason, Shizuo was not thinking about how that sounded ridiculous coming from him. Or the fact that it was likely people would run from him simply because of fear and not do to some conspiracy.

He was getting close enough to almost touch them, to halt them, when they abruptly turned into an alleyway.

He redirected his momentum to follow them into the alley. He was barely covered by the shadows before he felt a knife held up to his neck. Shizuo glared and growled again at the culprit. The older look-alike whose name he had not learned yet. Yet again, he reminded Shizuo of the flea with that knife pointed at him. Izaya was the only other one who usually had the gall to point that at him.

Said man was staring at him viciously, arm protectively up around Tsuki who was behind him. Shizuo was not able to see much of the kid from his angle though.

The older one kept the knife where it was, not moving yet. Shizuo stayed put for a moment, considering what to do with the bastard, knowing this weapon was barely anything against him.

"Look, Heiwajima-san, I know you are confused, but we are not impersonating you so that is all you need to know. I would appreciate it if you were to let my brother and I go. I'm sure you want answers from us, but that is something we don't need to give you. You don't want to know is going on. Just know that we don't want to bother you or anything. That is all that matters. You should appreciate that. After all, there is so much that happens you have no idea about. This won't affect you now if you stay out of it. Just take some friendly advice.

You might be strong, but that is not everything. So, let's stop this chase. Stop causing any more attention, and we go our separate ways. Maybe you'll even forget about this. I hope you'll let us be so everyone can walk away unharmed."

This did not calm him at all. It sounded like a threat.

 _What the actual-!_

They both stayed where they were, waiting to see who would act. He wasn't going to back down just because this little prick had a weapon and a wordy response. Before he could do anything, a familiar horse sound came from nearby. He looked over for a moment, and saw Celty coming over towards him. He turned back to where the others were a moment ago, and nobody was there anymore. He felt his neck where the knife was, but there wasn't even a scratch.

Celty got her phone out and typed a message out for Shizuo.

[ What are you doing in an alleyway all by yourself?"]

Shizuo sighed and ran a hand over his face, not knowing where to start.

"Well, the short version is that I just saw something weird."

She paused for a moment, before typing again.

[Me too, actually.]


	3. Chapter 3

"My, well this is interesting."

Izaya opened his laptop, just to get notifications going off on the dollar's website all about how there were two Shizuo look-alikes spotted in the presence of the monster himself.

 _Hmm, other look-alikes of another the same day I found my own double. And not just of anyone, but of the monster himself. How interesting._

He was definitely getting involved in whatever this was. But, one thing at a time.

He pulled out the red phone he found, and began scrolling through it.

Most of the call logs were of the Hachimenroppi from earlier. He looked through the texts although there weren't many there.

 **Hachimenroppi:** Why aren't you answering my calls? Did something happen? I know this is new to you, but you got to update us when we ask. Like it or not, we are in this together.

 _Hmm._

There were a couple other texts from that contact. They had similar messages, but were mainly cryptic. The gist was to call him back. Those texts were sent not too long ago. The most recent one from earlier that day.

 **Psyche:** Hiiiiiiiiiiii~! It's me! Psyche! Do you remember me from the video call? I was the one in the pink and white with a set of headphones around my neck. I also called you Hibi-chan~! I was so excited to have another brother and I just thought it would be cool to chat. I remember you wearing that cool shiny gold prince outfit. It must be so fun dressing like that all the time! Are you lonely in your mansion? I can send you cute pictures or we can talk about music! I know you weren't very nice to me on the video call, but hopefully we can eventually be good friends!

 **Psyche:** Saku-chan just reminded me that these phones are for emergencies only. So sorry! We can chat a different way. Bye~!

There were a bunch of senseless emojis after the written message.

Izaya smirked and chuckled to himself at the childish texts. There wasn't much on here, but the messages were still telling.

He could gather that an interesting situation was going on surrounding the look-alike and the other contacts. And that the look-alike had not been aware of it for very long yet. This Hachimenroppi seemed concerned about the look-alike. Was their situation serious? Like he guessed earlier. Izaya couldn't help his smirk at the thrilling possibilities that could be going on. Perhaps his look-alike hadn't known the others long until he was roped into whatever was going on? Izaya had some hunches, but he couldn't be certain yet.

And this Psyche person seemed amusing and different.

 _What secrets do you hide mysterious look-alike?_

* * *

( )

"Hibi-chan~!" An excitable Psyche launched a hug at an unsuspecting Hibiya, practically knocking him over in the process. After Hibiya regained his balance, he glared at the other who was hugging him tightly.

"Get off me you-you infantile brat!" He tried to force Psyche off, but the other had a surprisingly steel grip.

Of course, Hibiya and Roppi had gotten no sign that Psyche would just spring into the apartment without any notice that he would be coming by. Sakuraya entered in a calmer fashion, and closed the door behind him before following quietly after his energetic twin. The keys they were given were for emergencies only.

"You know, I don't remember ever saying that my apartment was open for any of you to just waltz in when you feel like it." Roppi stated as he entered the room, arms crossed.

Sakuraya faced him and bowed.

"Our apologies, but when we received your text about the situation with Hibiya-sama, we grew worried and wanted to make sure he was alright…. Well- "Sakuraya paused and rolled his eyes.

" _I_ wanted to check on him. My brother clearly just wanted to snag another play mate."

Psyche didn't react to his twin's jibe, and continued to squeeze Hibiya like a teddy bear. Hibiya was growing more flustered at his inability to pry the man-child off.

"Release me this instant! I do not favor any sort of contact from one such as you, so I demand you evict yourself from my person immediately!"

Psyche let go but stayed right in Hibiya's personal bubble as he looked up at him with big eyes and a trembling bottom lip.

"You-you mean you won't even, p-play with me!?"

Hibiya looked panicked at the reaction, not being used to seeing such a childish pout.

Hibiya bit his bottom lip and puffed his cheeks out slightly in a glower, doing a poor job of avoiding looking at Psyche.

Finally, he sighed, and grumpily looked at Psyche again.

"Fine! I shall join you in whatever frivolous activities you desire to waste my time with."

Psyche's pout was replaced with a huge beam as he jumped up and down and cheered.

"Yay! It's been a while since anyone's been willing to play with me. There's so much we could do! I have music related games and we could play that prince game you like so much since I brought some costumes- "Psyche continued to ramble as he pulled Hibiya by the wrist into the living room. Hibiya mumbled complaints under his breath, but still followed him all the same.

Sakuraya covered his mouth with a hand as he giggled quietly at the interaction, being used to his older twin's antics and amused by seeing another experience them. They really didn't act like they were the same age.

"You know, it seems as though they might do well together. From what I've heard from you, Hibiya-sama can be childlike as well. Maybe this will get them off our backs for a bit." Sakuraya joked with a small smile as he faced Roppi.

Roppi rubbed his forehead with an annoyed expression on his face, looking off distantly.

"Yeah, I suppose."

Hibiya had been driving him completely nuts. And he had only been living with him for two days! Luckily there was an extra bedroom since Roppi used to have a roommate, otherwise Mr. "prince" would have most likely complained about sleeping on the couch. Yet, he still found plenty to complain about anyways.

From practically the moment they had entered the apartment, nothing was good enough for that brat. The apartment was too small, the food wasn't good enough quality for a "prince" to eat, his rooming arrangements were too constricting. Since Hibiya's only clothes were the ones he ran away in, his only other option was to wear some of Roppi's clothes, which the prince was not too happy about. Luckily Roppi was able to find some clothes that weren't only black and red, to fit the "prince's" needs. He didn't want to risk going out to buy clothes for him yet, which Hibiya was not too thrilled about either. Also, Roppi wouldn't let him leave the apartment yet.

It was for their own safety, so nobody would know Hibiya was here. Also in case Roppi was wrong about who his own monitor was, and they caught sight of Hibiya with him.

Sometimes though, Roppi wished he could just kick the priss out, do to his incessant complaining. Since Hibiya was stuck in the apartment and there was not much for him to do there, that just added to the list of things he had to make Roppi miserable about.

You'd think the little twit would be more appreciative that he had saved his ass by letting him stay, but apparently not. Roppi knew that Hibiya was spoiled do to his upbringing, but Roppi had just about lost his patience with the other. He really didn't have any sympathy for a rich brat who wasn't used to not getting his way. Life had not always been very kind to Roppi. He felt no need to feel bad that the priss was experiencing hardship for the first time.

Plus, throughout these irritations, Roppi was trying to get even more information than he already had on Izaya Orihara. He was hoping that could help them figure out what to do with this situation. Some of what he found seemed promising. Yet, the frustration from the "prince's" neediness was distracting. Not that this would keep him from coming up with a plan though. However, it was also hard to plan for anything against the great info broker. At least, in a way that was successful and under the radar enough that the informant wouldn't be able to track them.

 _Honestly, though, could the "Prince" manage anything by himself?_

Getting lost in his inner ramblings, Roppi barely realized he had walked into the kitchen. He opened a drawer and got out a knife, thinking. He wanted to do something he had not felt a longing for since he found out about this whole thing. At the time, it had seemed too important to help the others and himself, rather than to continue his self-inflicting habit.

But in that moment though, it was all he could think about doing. The stress of the situation drew him to want some sort of release. He just stared at the knife for a moment, remembering what had led him to use it the last time. This was the longest he had ever gone without using it in a long time.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and placed the knife against his forearm. As he was about to pierce his skin, he heard-

"You know that's not going to fix anything that's going on, right?"

Roppi gasped and opened his eyes. He took the knife off his arm and looked over at Sakuraya who was standing in the kitchen by him. Roppi had honestly forgotten the other was there as he got lost in his inner ramblings about everything. Sakuraya was staring at him with stern yet gentle eyes.

Roppi sighed and placed the knife on the counter.

"I know." Roppi said quietly, not looking up yet.

Sakuraya seemed like the only one of the four who got along with all of them.

Neither of them moved or spoke for a moment. The sounds of Psyche and Hibiya playing a game in the living room could be heard. Psyche and his excited exclaims along with Hibiya's haughty commands, probably part of some sort of character game.

Sakuraya walked over and picked up the knife, seeming to inspect it for blood before placing it in the sink. Roppi still didn't move as he did this. Sakuraya sighed as he faced the other again.

"You'll figure it out, Roppi. We all will." He placed a gentle hand on Roppi's shoulder.

Roppi still didn't move, but hoped the other could figure that the gesture was still appreciated.

He did look up after a moment though, just to see the concerned and gentle light pink eyes of the other.

"Maybe when Psyche is done with his silly game, he can help me gather some information." Roppi tried.

Despite Psyche's childishness, he was pretty good at gathering information. Others seemed to trust him more and he would wrap them around his finger. Roppi was better at gathering information on the internet, not so much with other human interactions.

Sakuraya gave a small nod and hummed in agreement.

"Perhaps I could help as well in the mean time?"

Roppi nodded and walked over to his laptop, not even looking to see if Sakuraya was behind him. Sakuraya was a good listener. Maybe just telling him what he had so far could be helpful to gather his own thoughts. Sakuraya wasn't as manipulative as his brother could be. However, he could still be good at coming up with plans.

Roppi's desk was in the living room, since his room was small, and he would normally not have other people over if he needed to work. He opened the computer and pulled up the document file of info he had gathered on the informant so far. Out of the corner of his eye, Roppi saw Sakuraya pull up a chair next to him so he could also see. Roppi tried to tune out the childish duo across the room as he began to discuss with Sakuraya.

"So, as you can see, I was actually able to gather a good amount on Izaya Orihara. The thing is though, I'm not sure how any of this could be helpful." Roppi threw his hands up in the air in aggravation as he continued.

"I mean, the issue is that Izaya got a hold of Hibiya's C phone. In order to protect ourselves, what I would need to do is somehow get the phone away from him and get rid of any information he might have already gathered from having the phone. Luckily there wasn't much on the phone, but I know he has been able to gather a lot from even less of a starting point than that.

"I have already talked to one of my sources that I know is also one of Izaya's sources and I think I can keep him from telling Izaya anything, but I'm not sure how else to progress.

"One obvious choice might be to take the phone back. I know a guy that I could get to do that, but I feel like that wouldn't work. Izaya notices everything. He could probably catch the thief right away.

"I could easily set up a virus on his computer, but I know he's good on the computer as well, so he might be able to beat it. Plus, I'm not sure if he'd be able to track me through it.

"The main problems with the plans I've considered is my uncertainty of whether he could trace any of these actions back to me. I'm sure he's already seen our names, but knowing that I am trying to keep him in the dark might make him even more curious and inclined to worm his way into our situation. And we have no idea how that is going to affect us! He probably wouldn't be aware of how it would affect him until it is too late!" Roppi began to grow louder as he rambled, glaring at the screen of information that seemed useless to help them.

Sakuraya looked at Roppi with sympathy and thought over what Roppi has just told him. The pair that had been playing with Psyche's dolls paused their game when Roppi's rant had increased in volume. Psyche stood up and hesitantly walked over to the distraught Roppi.

Hibiya simply looked on, feeling awkward with not knowing what to do. Even though he had lived with Roppi for a couple of days now, he really didn't know any of them all that well. Roppi had contacted him the first time a couple of months ago.

He supposed they could be considered his "brothers", but Hibiya had grown up an only child. His only sense of family had been from his parents. Well at least, then he had believed their affections were for the proper reasons. He had no idea how to act, but somehow knew that his current stillness was probably incorrect.

"Um…R-Roppi-Chan?" Psyche started, quieter than usual.

"Is-is there anything I could do to help you?" Roppi sighed and looked over at Psyche. He didn't think the ranting would be loud enough to interrupt their silly game.

"Possibly Psyche. Although my issue now is figuring out how I can use the information I have to help us."

Psyche bounced slightly and looked over at the screen.

Hibiya felt weird as he watched the three huddled around the computer, trying to solve the problem. He almost felt left out.

"Well, "Sakuraya started, "Which is more dangerous, for Izaya to maintain information on us or suspecting that you don't want him to know our information?"

Roppi blinked, surprised Sakuraya had something to say.

"It would make sense for someone to want their missing cell phone back, right? And if they knew of Izaya's reputation, it would make sense that they would go to other means to get it back. Plus, if you can remove any information he gets on us from his computer, you could find a way to make it harder for him to find it again while he works on trying to fix his computer. Then, even if he can trace the virus back to you, simply knowing that you don't want him to have your information does not really tell him a lot. There are many reasons why someone would go to lengths like that."

Roppi let his chin rest on his palm as he considered what Sakuraya had just said. He made good points, but it was still risky.

Hibiya quietly made his way over to them as Roppi was thinking.

He cleared his throat, and the three turned to him.

"Um, it's not like he could really find anything too worrying, right? After all, that Yagiri Institute, or whatever it's called, keeps their information very well hidden."

Roppi sighed.

"That's the thing. I'm not sure. I know he's been able to find very secure information before, so I'm not certain if he could get access to that or not.

"After all, I was able to find secret information from them and I'm not a famed informant like he is. Although, I'm sure we would know if he already knew his connection to the project though. He would have already began involving himself, and it would have major effects, whatever it would be."

"Roppi-Chan, why can't we just ask Izaya Orihara to help us? He has the resources, and it would probably help him as well. Plus, he is connected to us."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Psyche. Izaya Orihara is a very unpredictable man, and I have no idea what he would do. Plus, even if he doesn't cause issues, the institute would most likely react strongly to their precious Izaya learning about what is happening. That would not go well, so no, we shouldn't chance it."

Psyche pouted, but didn't say anything. The others had all had similar thoughts to Psyche, having heard Roppi talk about Izaya's skills. But, despite Roppi's less than friendly personality, they did trust him. He knew more about Izaya than any of them. He had even had some transactions with Izaya online, where his identity was hidden. If Roppi said not to trust him, there was a good reason behind it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: When I finished writing this part, it seemed a little longer than I was aiming for. So, I split it up where I thought it made sense. Let me know what you think. Since I finished writing this, I figured I might as well post it. Don't expect updates like that every time though.**

Roppi spun around in his chair as he thought for a moment.

"You know, Psyche. There might be something you and I can do that shouldn't be very dangerous."

He started to tell the other what he was thinking, when they heard knocking from the front door.

Roppi's eyes widened, figuring the only person who could be at the door.

"Just a second!" Roppi shouted towards the door.

He silently made eye contact with the others, and motioned with his head for the others to hide in the spare room.

Sakuraya nodded and stood up. He grabbed the wrists of the other two, and began to walk to that room. Psyche pouted but went a long willingly. Hibiya scowled, and was more resistant to leave, seeming as though he was about to argue. Roppi glared at him and put a finger to his lips. Hibiya stopped resisting after seeing the glare, and huffily followed in reluctance, still glowering as he went.

Once Roppi was sure that the three were hidden securely in the room, and weren't making any sounds, he went to open the door.

Standing at the door, was an average looking man. He was about average height, although slightly taller than Roppi. He had average dark Japanese hair that barely ended past his ears, and average brown eyes. He looked older than Roppi, probably by a little more than a few years. He had faint signs of a growing beard.

What stood out the most with the familiar man in front of him was the long tan-colored trench coat he was wearing, which always reminded Roppi of what he would expect a detective like Sherlock Holmes to wear.

Roppi allowed himself to show a polite expression as he bowed slightly.

"Okano-san, I did not expect you to come by." He let the other into his apartment. They both walked over to the small table in front of the couch, and sat down.

"Isn't that normal, though? I usually only come when I have a case for you, and you and I both know that's not always very consistent."

Roppi nodded, and Okano-san placed the files on the table.

Roppi is a private investigator. Since with that job, you typically are self-employed, it can be difficult to get cases and get paid. So, Jin Okano would typically spread the word about Roppi's investigating skills, and come by to bring him cases. He approached Roppi himself with the suggested position.

Since Roppi is not the greatest with social interactions, this was very helpful. This was probably not how all P.I.s manage their firms, but it worked for them. Aside from his "brothers", Okano-san was pretty much the only other person he willingly interacted with. Aside from his childhood social worker who still feels like she must check in on him. Also, not counting when he had to gather information from people for cases.

Roppi slid the files over to himself, and began to flip through.

"Hm, you seem to have quite a few for me."

"Yeah. This one should probably be a priority." He pointed at one with a familiar name to Roppi on it.

"Not that I think the kid is in any real danger, but because his parents are important people. You'll probably get a nice pay from that one."

"What can you tell me about this one?" Roppi asked as he opened the file, thinking over how to work with this situation.

"Well, it's pretty much there in the folder. Apparently, the kid of a very wealthy and well-known couple disappeared a couple of days ago. They have no idea why. There were apparently no signs that he was going to run away beforehand. He left his cellphone behind and gave no hint to anyone in their household that he was going anywhere. Most of his stuff is still where it was except for a coat and one outfit, possibly the outfit he was wearing when he disappeared. There's a description in there of it. The security in their home is very efficient, so it's unlikely there would have been a forced entry without anyone being aware of it. So, they don't think it's a kidnapping. At least, not from in the mansion.

The kid is like nineteen though. Isn't it weird that he never would have left home before? Man, some rich families can be weird I guess. He probably didn't know how to do any life stuff, which is why he was still living at home."

Roppi had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, knowing all too well how true that was.

"He wasn't in college. At least, not in the traditional sense. He was still being educated, but by teachers that they hired to teach at the mansion. The thing is, even though they didn't downright say it, I got the feeling that he barely even left that mansion. Isn't that weird?"

"Why are they coming to me with this instead of the police?"

"Not sure. Just that they were adamant about not going to the police about it. The weird thing is, I've heard about the Subarashiis in magazines and other sources of celebrity news, and nowhere does it mention that they have a kid. Never would have known if it wasn't for this case. And they didn't want anyone to know about this except for me and you. The whole situation is just strange. Did they keep him in that mansion for nineteen years? Why would they do that?"

"Perhaps to protect him from the limelight of fame? Or are you suggesting you suspect some form of abuse going on with them keeping him from leaving their house?"

"I don't know. At least it will be an interesting case though, right?"

Roppi hummed in thought, pursing his lips together.

"Is there a certain time they are expecting an update?"

"Well, as soon as possible of course, but I did let them know that it will take time for you to do some investigating, so maybe they won't be too pushy."

"I appreciate than, Okano-san." He skimmed over some of the other files he was given. Another stuck out to him.

"Would I have to go to Ikebukuro to investigate this one?" Roppi asked, pointing to the other one which had caught his eye.

"Hmm? Most likely, if you want to get the best info for the case. That is from a concerned mother who wants you to investigate whether her son and his friends are a part of the gangs in Ikebukuro after all."

Roppi sighed at his luck.

 _Of course, things get more complicated._

Okano-san raised an eyebrow at that.

"What's wrong with that? It's not like Ikebukuro is _that_ far from Shibuya. Besides, I know you're not so much of a hermit that you won't interact with others to solve a case. Haven't you gone farther than that before during a case?"

Mentally Roppi was worried about Okano-san being suspicious, but he managed to not show any sign of his concern. He gave a small smile and tried to force a laugh.

"No, it's nothing like that. Of course, I'll still do it. I've just heard how dangerous that city is that's all."

Okano-san stared at Roppi for a second, before chuckled slightly.

"Really? I have a hard time believing that you would be concerned about how dangerous that city is. Didn't you say once that there was a time you lived in a rough neighborhood as a kid?"

"Let's not talk about that."

"Right. Anyways, that was all." They both got up, and Roppi walked Okano-san over to the door.

"Thank you again, for helping me get these cases."

"No problem. I am getting paid to do this anyways." He stopped before opening the door and turned to face Roppi.

"The thing is, you didn't just seem surprised when you saw me at the door. It was almost as though you weren't happy that I was here. Is there any reason that might be? I know you're not much of a people person, but I had hoped by now that you could at least tolerate me. Were you waiting on something else? Or is there something going on that I don't know about?" He asked, giving Roppi a scrutinizing look.

 _He's prying again…_

"Okano-san, I've told you before that you don't need to concern yourself with my personal life. Just because I am not overly welcoming towards you, doesn't mean that something is wrong. I had thought it would be clear by now that I am not a very open person. I'm sure you mean well, but please stop. Nobody needs to monitor me." And with that, he opened the door for the other. The other man did not look convinced, but he bowed and left with an unreadable expression. Roppi closed the door behind him and sighed.

 _I should not have said that._

It was a minor slip up, but still. He still did not know everything about how this whole thing worked.

He listened to make sure the footsteps were gone.

"You can come out now."

The first one out was Psyche, who practically flew over to Roppi and tackled him with a bear hug. Luckily, Roppi fell against the door. He sighed, which he seemed to do a lot lately.

"Psyche, it's not like he was going to hurt me." Somehow, Roppi found himself slightly petting Psyche's hair, who only squeezed him tighter.

Sakuraya and Hibiya followed. Sakuraya had a small smile, but it was slightly tight. Hibiya was pale, and trying not to look at Roppi.

"I-I know- "Psyche's voice muffled in Roppi's shirt. "B-but I was still w-worried."

"I'm honestly a little surprised, yet pretty relieved that you all managed to stay quiet. Knowing how nosy Okano-san is, he would have looked around had he heard anything. He's frustratingly perceptive."

"Well, I think we all understand how severe our situation is." Sakuraya stated quietly.

Roppi hesitantly wrapped his arms around Psyche to return the hug.

"What were you even worried about anyways?"

Psyche removed his face from Roppi's shirt, but continued to hug him.

"W-well, I was worried about m-many things. I was worried what would happen if he found us, if he realized you knew Hibi-chan, if he caught on to why you were scared to go to Ikebukuro. Cause we don't know what will happen if he finds out that you know. A-and, he was kinda scary when he starting to in-interrogate y-you. Plus, we don't know if he knows what we are."

"Psyche, I don't know for sure that he's my monitor."

"But you have a strong suspicion that he is, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"He's like the only you talk with besides us really. It would only make the most sense. Plus, you say he's nosy when it comes to you. I was just worried because there are so many unknowns about what happens if they find out we are self-aware, so I was just scare f-for you. You are one of my new brothers. And, you take care of us, even though you're mean about it. If it wasn't for you, none of us would know, and who knows what would happen. I would r-really miss you, R-Roppi-Chan if anything were t-to happen." Psyche began to bite his trembling lip.

"Oh, Psyche. I'm sorry you were worried, but I'm okay."

Psyche buried his face in Roppi's shirt again.

Roppi started rubbing Psyche's back, and rested his head on top of Psyche's.

Roppi was not used to any form of physical affection. He had grown up being flung from foster home to foster home, and never for very long. He had never been adopted either. The first time he had ever felt a real sense of family was when he found his "brothers" months ago. He was not used to it, but not completely against it either. It was kind of nice being able to protect others surprisingly.

"Psyche's not the only one." Sakuraya walked over to them. "We were all worried, I'm sure. I'm glad you're okay though."

Roppi returned the small smile, slightly. After rocking the man-child, a little, Roppi decided it was enough.

"Psyche, I'm moving to the couch now, alright?"

Psyche's hands trembled against him.

"Psyche, I'm not going anywhere. You can even lean against me if you want to, and you know I wouldn't normally let you do that." After a beat, Psyche finally released Roppi, and followed him to the couch. They both sat down, and Psyche did lean against Roppi. Sakuraya sat next to his twin. Hibiya just stood in front of them awkwardly for a moment, still looking out of it, before choosing to sit in the chair by the couch. They waited a moment to make sure Psyche had calmed down, before Roppi turned to Hibiya.

"I think you know we have to talk about some things."

Hibiya still didn't look up, but fidgeted anxiously.

"Clearly, from Psyche's display, I can guess you all were able to overhear our conversation."

He gave a slight nod.

"I'm sure you can figure out that we were talking about you. Did you know that your parents would hire a private investigator to find you?"

"I did not speculate whether they would."

"Dammit Hibiya! This is the worst kind of situation to not think in."

"And what do you think I should have done!? Stay in a house where I now know that I was not seen as a son but a special experiment they oversaw!"

 _Here goes this argument again._

* * *

" _I just do not understand why today you want us to make sure Hibiya-sama does not leave the mansion, Mistress Suburashii. He rarely ever leaves anyways. I do not think we even need to look out for it."_

" _It is a new form of assignment from the institute. They want him monitored even more closely. Now we are supposed to actually keep him in the mansion, not just cause him to not want to leave._ _It is a form of a social experiment I believe…_

… _It is simply remarkable what he is. My husband and I are so honored to take part of such a huge breakthrough in scientific history_

… _Every time I see him I cannot help but think about what an extraordinary piece of science he is._

… _Now, I hope the instructions are clear. He is not to leave. I am not sure for how long."_

* * *

Hibiya kept remembering the conversation he overheard between his mother and a servant the day he ran away from the mansion.

"I'm just not sure leaving was the best thing you could have done. You could have stayed and pretended you were oblivious. We could have gathered valuable information from that," Roppi claimed.

"Are you serious? You are telling me that I should have pretended that I was unaware that my own parents do not see me as a person? Do you even understand how painful that would be!? I am not some actor who can push their own feelings away to accomplish a set goal. Even if I wanted to try, my parents are perceptive people, and would most likely catch on, so it would not even be worth it to attempt."

"And what if they find you on their own even if you don't go to them? You will have to come up with some sort of explanation as to why you left- "

"I AM NOT GOING BACK THERE!"

The two glared at each other, neither backing down. They had argued about what Hibiya should do several times now.

After a very tense silence, Hibiya stormed off.

* * *

Hibiya slammed his door and threw himself on his bed. He knew Roppi was not trying to be cruel, but it was so frustrating. He screamed into his pillow. After that, he found himself sobbing hysterically. He knew he shouldn't be, yet somehow, he couldn't seem to help it.

So many thoughts and feelings were going through his head. So many things were happening. Was this what they call an existential crisis? Was he just pathetic?

He just couldn't go back there.

Everything felt like it was falling apart, inside and out. What did he do now? He felt so lost.

After a while, he felt a small hand pat his shoulder. Hibiya looked up and saw Sakuraya looking at him with sympathy. Hibiya sat up slightly, still sniffling, and tried to wipe his eyes.

"He'll come around, Hibiya-sama. This is just hard on all of us. Roppi just handles it by being calculating for what could help us all the most."

Hibiya just nodded.

 **A/N: I added a list, to the author's note in the first chapter, of some of the other characters and alts that are significant to this story that I was not able to tag. In case anyone wanted to know.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I feel like I should note some things. In the Drrr time line, this is after the first dollars meeting but Namie is not Izaya's assistant. (Is that called Canon divergence? Since that's where there is a change.) Also, it's when Shingen Kishitani is in Ikebukuro.**

 **Also, I'm not sure if I should note what I mean by an Orphan Black AU. The similarities mean referring to the fact that there are (disregard this part of the AN if you do not know Orphan Black and/or wish to be surprised about some elements in the story)* Clones, monitors, and Clones that are like the Castor clones. Most of the story line will be very different from the show, but I still considered this an au since the show inspired this and there will be some reference to the characters in that show. At this point, I'm thinking the references will be about Sarah, Cosima, Beth, possibly Dyad and the Castor project. This exists in the same universe, but the focus is on the Drrr characters and alts which is why I have this as an au and not a crossover. In Orphan Black, this would be some time after Sarah and the others have learned about the Castor Project (and clearly before where I now am in the show). Please let me know if you have any questions on what I have said. ***

 **(It might be easier if I list the pov. I'm trying it out.)**

(Delic)

Delic was not sure how much longer they were running after bumping into Shizuo Heiwajima. If Delic was being perfectly honest, he was cursing up a storm in his head after encountering the other. Tsuki was panting hard behind him again. Delic gritted his teeth, and pushed forward, tempted to pick Tsuki up.

At least this time their path was hidden and there was no one around to bump into.

It seemed like they had been running through the city almost all day. Of course, throughout the day they would take periodic short breaks to catch their breaths, hydrate, and eat before heading out again. They both had to go through physical training at the lab, but Delic had more experience with it since Tsuki had only been doing the intense training for barely a year now. Physical exertions like this were still a lot on the kid.

Delic had managed to sneak them out of the lab very early in the morning, and they managed to run through the city when it was daylight out. Now, it was almost sunset. This had been a long day on both physically. He had passed by some hotels as they were running, so technically they could have already stopped by now. However, Delic was too afraid to chance stopping at a hotel until he felt like they were far enough away.

His goal was to stay at a hotel at the edge of Ikebukuro, so they were a good enough distance away from the lab.

Even with his clever escape, the researchers were bound to discover their absences eventually. Tsuki was a very important specimen to the researchers now after all. Hopefully, the place he was aiming to stay at would give them enough time to at least sleep somewhere sheltered for a night before they had to run again to avoid recapture. His plan to escape was clearly not perfect, but it was better than letting some heartless scientists attempt to turn his innocent little brother, one of the most harmless and gentlest kids he'd ever known, into a fighting machine.

Finally, Delic saw the sign of the hotel he was looking for. He steered them over there and then entered the hotel. They had barely entered the building before Delic pulled them over to the counter, so they wouldn't collapse on their feet from stopping.

The hotel was not the nicest one out there, but it seemed like one he would be able to afford.

Delic and Tsuki both leaned on the counter, breathing hard.

"We- _hah hah_ \- we'd like to- _hah_ \- "Delic couldn't even finish his sentence yet as he was catching his breath. The young woman behind the counter was staring at them bewildered. She was young looking, with typical Japanese features in her face, and light brown hair tied into a high ponytail.

Tsuki close his eyes and leaned his forehead against the counter of the front desk, swaying like he was about to pass out. Delic felt similarly faint, but let his motivations help him to stay awake. He reached an arm around Tsuki to make sure his brother stayed somewhat upright.

The girl stared at them in confusion, waiting. Delic managed to get a hold of his breathing and straightened his posture again.

"We would like to stay in a room here for the night. The cheapest room you have for two. It's fine if it's on the first floor." He reached into his pocket and took out the cash that he snagged from a female research intern he had flirted with. It seemed like enough to pay for staying there.

She blinked, still seeming perplexed, but then nodded as she took the money.

"Alright. You would be on the first floor then. May I have a name listed for the room?"

"Uh…" Delic had thought he was good with the planning for their whole escape, yet for some reason this small detail had slipped his mind to consider. He couldn't state either of their real names. Legally, they didn't exist. Both of them had been pretty much hidden away because of the Project they were a part of that was connects to the lab. They had no official records of existence outside of the lab.

Granted, this girl wouldn't know that, and this likely wouldn't come up unless the police were investigating them (which was unlikely). The real issue was that if the researchers from the Nebula lab were to search for hotel records (which was possible) they would immediately know where Delic and Tsuki were. Feeling pressured, Delic blurted out the first name he could think of.

"Tamaki Suoh."

The front desk girl paused and gave him a look as though to say, _Are you serious?_

Delic kind of felt like an idiot from saying that name himself. It was only the name of a main character from one of the most well-known animes out there. You didn't have to be a genius to question whether that name was real. Even if she did not say so outright, even the amount of suspicion could lead to her informing someone above her and that could lead to something bad fast. Delic was internally berating himself strongly for not planning better for this detail. He was starting to panic, wondering what to do.

Tsuki's breathing was already beginning to even out more. Delic wanted to resolve this before Tsuki even realized there was a problem if he could. Delic was better at keeping his panic inside than Tsuki was. This was why Delic did not even tell Tsuki he was planning to sneak them out of the lab until right before he started to do so.

After rapidly considering what to do, an idea came to Delic that might work. Seeing that Tsuki was stable now, Delic removed his arm from around his brother. He rolled his shoulders and slowly unzipped his jacket. He slid the jacket off to show the muscled tone of his arms. Delic felt relieved that he was still wearing the white tank top he had trained in just the other day. After setting the jacket down, he leaned over the counter slightly, his arms laid on the countertop in front of them from the elbow down. He gave her his most charming smile that he had often used on female lab interns. "Listen…" Delic reached his arm over and just lightly touched the top of the counter lady's hand with the tips of his fingers.

She glanced down at where his hand was and looked up at him again. She seemed surprised, somewhat conflicted, but not offended by his actions towards her.

"My brother and I _really_ need a place to stay at least for the night. Basically, I'm trying to look out for his wellbeing." He lightly brushed his index fingertip over the tops of her fingers in an affectionate way. "So, if you could please write the name I mentioned, I would really appreciate it. I promise, we're not bad. Also…" He slowly leaned over the counter even more and whispered into her ear.

Then he slowly pulled away again, giving her an alluring look. Her eyes went wide, and her cheeks colored in a light rosy blush. She glanced down, at where their hands were. Despite her blush, she seemed to be fighting a small smile as well. As she got out of her trance, she cleared her throat.

"I'll, um, write your name down for the room and go get the key." She hesitantly pulled her hand away from his to go over to the computer and write the name down before going to get the room key.

Delic smiled as he straightened himself up again. He exhaled slightly in relief. A soft whimper from next to him caused Delic to look over to his little brother. Tsuki was fiddling with his scarf and glancing seemingly everywhere constantly. He was also biting a trembling lip. Delic let out another sigh, a worried one. Apparently Tsuki had realized how close of a call that was. It was also likely that this whole situation was getting to him.

Delic lowered himself to be able to meet Tsuki's eyes and held each of Tsuki's shoulders, gaining the other's attention who returned the eye contact.

"Tsuki," Delic started gently. "I know you are scared about everything that is going on, and I don't blame you. But know that I am going to do whatever it takes to protect you. Okay?"

Tsuki looked uncertain but nodded slowly. Delic tried to give him a reassuring smile.

"Trust your big brother, okay? I got us this far after all. We are going to get there."

Just then the woman behind the counter came back with their room key.

* * *

They ended up staying at the hotel for a couple of days. Delic figured it would take some time before Nebula was close to tracking them, so it wouldn't hurt to have even a little stability before taking off again. After all, if his plan was going to work of where they would end up, they had a long journey ahead of them. They could use the rest for now.

The two of them stayed in the hotel room for the most part. After all, the reason they were residing in a hotel was to stay in hiding. During the day, a few times, Delic would leave to shop for things they needed (while keeping his face covered just in case). He would buy enough food, water, and clothes that they could carry with them.

He was also constantly revisiting in his head what they were going to do next as part of his plan along with possible actions to take should anything go wrong. Delic unfortunately realized, as he rehashed his plan that day, that he did not have a viable passport for either of them. This is something they wouldn't need for a while hopefully, but still. Those would be hard to get. There could be a chance that they could find a way onto an overseas flight without anyone noticing their lack of passports, but that didn't mean the chances were good. Delic supposed that they could attempt to stay out of reach from Nebula without leaving the country, but he would still like to consider another way for them to leave. He really wanted to be able to get back to the states.

Delic made sure that Tsuki pretty much stayed in the hotel room, unless he was getting a snack or a game from the mini concession area in the lobby. Tsuki was fine with it though. Another reason Delic decided for them to stay at the same place for a couple of days was for Tsuki after all. He needed a chance to settle, even slightly, to calm down from everything that was going on. Neither of them had left the Nebula lab in years. Delic was usually better at adjusting to change than Tsuki was. It was no secret that the kid could become a nervous wreck. Tsuki freaking out was the last thing either of them needed now. They had discovered during the past year that Tsuki freaking out could be very bad, and not just for the kid's own mental health.

Not to say that Delic was always fine under stressful situations, but he usually handled it better.

Anyways, it was the evening of their second day at the hotel they were in. Delic and Tsuki were watching some tv, relaxing for the moment. Delic thought he pretty much had gathered everything that he thought they needed for their next departure.

However, he was still contemplating whether they should leave that night or the first thing in the morning.

They had barely unpacked. Then again, there was not much to unpack anyways. They each had a generic looking bag that Delic had somehow found at the lab before they left. There was not much in there, aside from what Delic had selected as necessities.

They were both leaning back on the head-rest of the bed, which they were sharing to watch the show that was on. This was kind of nice. Just the two of them watching some easy sitcom. Even in the lab they did not get much chances to enjoy something peaceful like this as brothers. Most of the day was usually spent as training. Delic didn't want to become a fighter either, but his concern was always more for his brother. The two had been there for each other ever since their residence at the lab had become permanent.

He could still remember the times when he would hear his brother getting upset during training. Either from being scared, not wanting to do what they were asking him to do, being threatened to do what the trainers wanted him to do, or accidentally causing destruction because he could not control his strength. When that would happen, Delic would always leave what he was doing and go to comfort his brother, even though he typically got yelled at for leaving. The trainers would usually end up relenting, though, seeing that yelling wouldn't help Tsuki to become any better at doing what they wanted him to do. Plus, Tsuki was pretty pathetic looking when he was really upset. Not that Delic thought that would help his brother for long.

Tsuki let out a nice laugh that made Delic smile as well. He hadn't heard his brother laugh in a while. Moments like this only reaffirmed that he was doing the right thing by running away from that lab.

A commercial break came on, advertising some new Yuuhei Hanejima movie. Delic stretched and looked at the time. A realization came to him that made him sigh.

He needed to see if that counter girl was expecting anything from him. She hadn't said anything to imply so since he made her blush on the first day, but he wanted to make sure. After all, she had let both Tsuki and himself get anything they wanted from the concession area for free, claiming that she would pay for it. It was possible that she was just being nice. In fact, that was all Delic suspected it was. However, given the dire situation they were in, he needed to make sure.

Delic got up from the bed.

He would go over there and see. He would probably not outright ask what he was wondering but try to figure out if she was expecting…him. Not that he had a problem with it if she did want to see him for a certain reason. Heck, maybe she just wanted a nice conversation. Maybe just to watch a movie or something. He didn't like the idea of leaving Tsuki alone, but he had to make sure that the person who could rat them out was happy, so they could leave later without a trace.

She had acted innocent enough, but Delic's mind always seemed to take interactions with attractive people to a different direction. He didn't really know why. As far as he knew, he was the only guy in the lab who had ever been like that. At least, the only one who would shamelessly vocalize these thoughts out loud that is. Thinking about that did cause him to hesitate though.

The lab researchers had always been very clear that he was to never engage in any activities like that. There had been times he'd been caught making out with a cute female intern and he was usually disciplined greatly for it. He never saw those interns again and he didn't know why. Even harmless flirting would lead to harsh disapproving by the researchers in charge. He had never understood why they always reacted in this way. Especially when he was very hormonal. For some reason they had never told him why they were so strict on a seemingly harmless matter. Sex was just a part of life, right? But, they were always very grave when lecturing him about it.

Delic put his shoes on but didn't go anywhere yet.

Maybe there was a reason they were so firm about that subject. Should he really chance going against it when he didn't even know why they didn't want him to do things like that?

Delic shook his head. He wasn't in the lab anymore. He didn't have to listen to what those cold researchers wanted him to not do. They were probably just being unfairly harsh anyways. Just because they were serious didn't mean it would lead to anything bad. He was still hesitant but tried to convince himself of this. Tsuki's wellbeing was important now. Besides, he might be worrying for nothing. He'd been wanting that after all. And he didn't even know if anything would lead there. He nodded to himself as though for reassurance.

"Um, Nii-san?"

Oh right. Delic turned around and gave Tsuki a reassuring smile.

"I'll be back Tsuki. I just need to see if the woman at the counter needs anything. She had been so nice to us after all."

Tsuki frowned softly.

"Oh. Okay."

"I'll be back Tsuki, alright? You know what to do if anything happens, right?"

Tsuki bit his lip but nodded slowly. Delic sighed. He walked back over to give his younger brother a warm hug.

"Your brother knows what he's doing, alright? Just try not to leave this hotel room unless you need to get me, alright?" He pulled away and looked at Tsuki. Tsuki still looked worried, but not as much.

"O-okay, Delic-Nii. I trust you. Just be careful, alright?"

Delic smiled softly and nodded.

"Of course, I will be, Tsuki. I shouldn't be long. Keep your bag near you in case we need to leave tonight, okay?"

Tsuki pulled his bag closer and turned back to the show that had returned.

Delic left the room and walked down the hallway. He was still hesitant about this but determined. The hallway from their room to the lobby was not long. Just as Delic was turning to enter the lobby he froze.

"You see, my brother does not get along with our step-father at all. I think that's why he took off with our younger brother. He didn't want our step-father to have custody of our younger brother. Technically, the kid isn't in any danger. Legally though, it is still kidnapping. I'm here to convince him bring the kid back home before we get the authorities involved. It is a family dispute after all, you know?"

Leaning against the counter talking to the counter girl was none other than Ruby. Another part of the lab's project. Even though he was not a researcher, he was probably the lab's most loyal "dog".

The counter girl looked surprised but uncertain. Ruby was leaning against the counter, his arms crossed. He was wearing a nice burgundy suit that one would see a high-up yakuza member wearing. He was smiling as though trying to seem friendly, but it came across more like he was baring his teeth. Even though his eyes were obscured by black sunglasses, it was clear with his facial features and hair that Ruby was identical to Delic. The girl would likely believe his story.

Delic didn't know what to do. He stayed frozen like that for a moment. Panic and scattering thoughts going around his mind. He knew they would be coming but was still caught off guard at already seeing Ruby here. He needed to do something. It was only a matter of time before-

Just then, Ruby happened to glance over and spotted Delic standing at the corner connecting to the lobby. Ruby's smile got even wider as he straightened and faced the other.

"Ah, brother. Just who I was looking for. You had to know we'd find you."

They both stayed where they were, waiting. Both of them were still as they watched each other in anticipation. The tension was so thick in the air. Ruby was looking at him expectantly, fingers loosely curling. Delic carefully reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the object he desired, but still didn't move for a moment, continuing to stare at Ruby.

Then Delic made up his mind and sped over to Ruby quickly while raising his enclosed hand. In barely the blink of an eye, Ruby turned out-of-the-way, grabbed Delic's wrist, and bent Delic's arm in an awkward way behind his back while using his own weight to pin the other against the counter. Delic cried out and dropped the knife in his hand from Ruby's bruising grip.

The girl gasped and backed away from the counter. She looked scared and unsure what to do.

"Ah, brother. You should have known by now after all these years that I always beat you at physical fights. I've always been stronger, you know." Ruby kept Delic's arm bent behind his back, pressing the arm more in an unnatural direction causing Delic to cry out again. Ruby looked seriously at the girl.

"If you know what's best for you, you'll make sure this never happened, alright?"

Delic swore he could feel the bones in his arm creaking from how they were bending that way. He would not be surprised if Ruby were to break his arm.

"Now that I've got you still, how about you tell me where you darling little brother is, alright?"

Delic grit his teeth, still in pain.

"No." He bit out, "I will never tell you where he is."

He howled again as Ruby bent the arm even more.

Ruby sighed mockingly.

"Ah Delic, you know holding out is only going to give you more pain in the end. Don't you think it's not worth it when we're just going to find him anyways?"

"No! You won't- "

"Not that I have any problem breaking your bones though."

Delic screamed again.

* * *

(Tsuki)

Tsuki was trying to enjoy the show again, but he was too worried with Delic not being in there anymore. He didn't know why his brother was going to see the counter woman, but it seemed important.

He suddenly got a sense that something was wrong. He thought he heard something from the lobby but wasn't sure. It was too faint to tell what it was,

Delic hadn't been gone for very long yet, and didn't tell Tsuki how long he would be, but Tsuki just had a bad feeling about it. He knew that he wasn't supposed to leave the room, but he just wanted to pop into the lobby for a moment to make sure everything was alright. Not that he knew what he would do if something was wrong. Tsuki got up and put the strap of his messenger bag around his neck, just in case. He took a deep breath and left the room. He went down the hall and froze in the same place Delic had before.

Ruby was there! He was pinning Delic against the counter, bending Delic's arm back in a way that made Delic shout in pain. Tsuki gasped aloud before he could stop himself. Ruby looked over to him and smiled.

"Ah, Tsuki. Just who I wanted to see. We've all been so worried about you, you know?"

Tsuki found it hard to breath. Ruby was by far the scariest out of all of them in the lab. He hadn't hurt Tsuki at all, but Ruby still scared Tsuki a lot. He could be very mean. Out of all of them, Ruby had injured the most during training. Sometimes even without being prompted.

"Tsuki! Run! Get away from here, now! Aahh!"

"Shut it, Delic! You know they won't care if I bring _you_ back injured. They'll want to punish you anyways."

Ruby was the most violent and dangerous of them.

Tsuki began to shake.

 _What do I do? He's hurting Delic! He's going to take us back and Delic is going to punished more harshly than in the past! What's going to happen to him? What now?_

Ruby noticed Tsuki beginning to get anxious and suddenly looked a little nervous.

"Listen, uh, Tsuki. You know I'm not gonna hurt you, right? Just come with me back to the lab, alright?"

Tsuki was beginning to hyperventilate and shaking. _No. No this was not good. This was the worst time- he needed to do something._ Despite his panic, he began to walk towards the two. Ruby seemed uncertain.

"A-alright Tsuki. Just come with me, and I won't hurt your brother anymore, okay? J-just calm down."

Tsuki started to raise his fists, although they were still shaking like crazy.

"L-listen, um, Tsuki. I was told not to hurt you, but I got to get you back to the lab, even if it's by force, alright? Let's just make this easy before any damage occurs."

Despite his words, Tsuki felt determined to do something. He walked right up to them but unclenched one shaking fist, so he could use a hand to steady himself on the counter. Unfortunately, that didn't work since the counter crumbled under his shaking hand. He could see Ruby's eyebrows raise, and the other sweat-drop slightly. Tsuki closed his eyes and tried to get his breathing under control.

Seeing that Tsuki was distracted, Ruby shakily reached into an inner pocket of his jacket, with the hand that wasn't restraining Delic. As he was about to pull something out of his jacket, suddenly his entire body stiffened, and he jerked his head sideways. His face started twitching, and his head kept jerking to the side.

"No!" He called out. He stumbled back and held his hand to his head as he kept twitching and jerking to different sides.

Tsuki opened his eyes after hearing the exclamation and his eyes widened when he saw what was happening.

"Ah!" Ruby tumbled over, the syringe he was pulling out to use on Tsuki falling out of his hand as he continued to jerk around on the floor like he was having a seizure.

* * *

(Delic)

Delic blinked after a moment, realizing Ruby was no longer holding him down. He turned around and saw Ruby jerking around on the floor. Ruby continued to cry out and groan as he jolted around. Realizing that Ruby was glitching, Delic immediately turned to Tsuki.

"Tsuki, Come on! We don't know how long he'll be like that." He grabbed Tsuki's wrist and they took off from the hotel. Adrenaline seemed to be enough to keep him distracted from the pain in the moment. Delic wasn't even thinking about the direction he was going. He just knew they needed to get out of there. The stress of the confrontation seemed to have taken away some of his rationality. He didn't know how long he was running, everything seemed like a blur except for feeling Tsuki's wrist in his hand.

 _No. I can't now._ He shook his head and tried to focus his eyes.

He didn't know how long it had been, when the sound of a horse neigh caused him to look up. A figure in all black with a yellow cat helmet was riding beside them. They typed out a message and showed it to Delic.

[I know you are in some sort of trouble. If you hop on, I can take you both somewhere safe.]

It was natural for Delic to be cautious. But, he'd seen what the lab forces look like and they never came in a motorcycle in a black suit like that. It may be a risk, but now they needed to get away. Plus, there was something familiar about the figure that Delic just couldn't put his finger on. He nodded, and the rider stopped.

"Tsuki, get on!" Delic looked at Tsuki, silently asking him to trust him. Tsuki bit his lip but then held Delic's good arm for support as he got on.

Delic sat behind the rider with Tsuki behind him. Tsuki wrapped his arms tightly around his brother and buried his face into Delic's back. Delic wrapped his arms around the rider's waist the best he could. His good arm holding on tightly while his injured one kind of just laid there limply. The rider lifted the front wheel off the ground for a second, with a neighing sounding out, before they sped down the road faster than Delic had ever gone in his life. He tightened his arm to stay on, not knowing what to expect next but hoping it was something better.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this update. I kept rewriting this chapter. Let me know what you think.**

 **(A/N: So, I realized that when I first posted this chapter that I forgot to put something in here. I fixed it just now. So sorry!)**

Riding on the motorbike had a strange sensation. They were going fast, but for some reason Delic almost felt like he was going in slow motion. Even with the feel of the cool wind against his face. It was a surreal feeling. After what seemed like almost no time at all, they stopped in front of an apartment building. Delic and Tsuki got off the motorcycle and waited for the rider to put the bike away before going inside. Delic was now cradling his injured arm.

"Um, where are you taking us?"

[To the apartment I share. You should be safe there.]

Delic was still unsure about all of this, so he remained on guard as he followed her into the elevator, making sure Tsuki stayed behind him. Tsuki was still shaking unfortunately.

The strange feeling stayed with Delic even now that he was off the bike. Despite having planned to escape for so long, the events that followed didn't seem to have sunk in yet. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. They had their days planned out for them when they were in the Nebula lab for a while. They were pretty much forced to train most of the day, and another large portion of their day consisted of tests to see how they were physically health-wise. (Aside from eating and sleeping that is.)

It was still hard to believe that wasn't the case anymore. This was a good thing of course but taking a bit to process. Delic didn't realize it would feel so odd to be free. He'd been so focused on getting them out without really thinking about just how strange the change was going to be for them both.

He was glad that they were away, but he didn't know what to expect now.

They all got into an elevator. It was a small space but didn't seem caging however. There was a strange silence during the ride up, but nobody seemed to know what to say.

They got out of the elevator and followed her to her door. After Delic and Tsuki turned the corner of the hallway to follow the rider to the apartment, they froze.

Leaning against the wall by the door was none other than Shizuo Heiwajima. He was leaning there casually with his arms crossed, and a soft frown on his face. It was unclear how long he had been there. The rider stepped up to him and showed him their phone after typing on it.

"Well, I saw the message on the dollars message board, and I figured you'd want to help them."

… _The Dollars?_ What did he mean by that? It sounded familiar, but Delic wasn't sure from where.

"Especially after our conversation we had the other day. Plus- "He looked up and narrowed his eyes at Delic.

"I want some answers as well."

Shizuo's eyes were intimidating to say the least. He could feel the anger and suspicion from the glare. It was as though flames of fury were in his eyes, directed at Delic. Delic couldn't help the discomforting shiver that went through him, but hoped it wasn't noticed.

The rider nodded and went to unlock the door. She motioned for them to follow her inside. Cautiously Delic walked in followed by Shizuo, and Tsuki behind them. The half conversation he gathered from the two made Delic realize something.

This wasn't just someone being nice. This rider and Shizuo Heiwajima wanted answers. That's why they were helping. It made sense that Shizuo would be curious after seeing Tsuki and him a couple of days ago. The rider must know Shizuo Heiwajima well, which is probably why she helped them. Because she knew that her friend wanted information about his two look-alikes.

Delic and Tsuki probably didn't have much of a choice other than to answer their questions. Or at least, _he_ would answer them. Delic wouldn't want Tsuki answering sensitive questions from strangers, mainly because of how nervous his brother already was. Tsuki would probably be okay with not talking to the others anyways. Delic wasn't thrilled that this was why they had been helped. It almost seemed manipulative, that they helped to get something out of it. He supposed it wasn't that surprising, given the circumstances, but this still didn't sit well with him.

He followed them into the living room. Delic couldn't help but feel very nervous. He tried to hide his uneasiness though by keeping a calm or stoic look about himself, so Tsuki and the others notice.

Shizuo sat on the single seat by the coffee table, facing them, with his arms crossed and stared at them expectantly. He looked irritated. (Which must be a normal look for him, if Delic had to guess from what he's seen of the other man so far.)

Delic and Tsuki just stood awkwardly in the living room, not really knowing what to do with themselves. Delic stood slightly in front of Tsuki in a protective way. Tsuki was trying to hide how much he was fidgeting nervously, whereas Delic almost seemed too stiff.

* * *

(Celty)

It was clear to Celty how tense they both still were. She wanted answers from them but figured they should focus on what was important first.

She cautiously stepped up to them and showed what she typed on her phone.

[Are you both alright?]

They both still jumped when she approached him. The older one's eyebrows rose, like he was surprised, but nodded to answer her question. Tsuki peered over his companion's shoulder and nodded shyly to her question before glancing at the ground again. The two seemed like they were still skittish. Clearly, they were both still shaken from whatever they had been running from. Times like these made Celty wish she could speak to them in a calming tone. But, she supposed she could try her best with body language and wording. Celty took notice of how the older one was holding his left arm.

After typing out the next message, she slowed her movements to not startle them again.

[It looks like you're injured. My roommate is a doctor, so I could have him look at that when he gets back. He's currently on a call but will probably come back soon.]

The older one pursed his lips together, as though he was not sure about seeing a doctor, but none the less nodded politely.

[Would you like to sit on the couch while you wait?]

He still seemed unsure, but carefully made his way over to the couch, Tsuki quickly following him. The two sat next to each other on the couch. The older one seemed to be trying his best to avoid looking at Shizuo's eyes. Celty came over with a pillow. The older one hesitantly lifted his arm up and carefully rested it on the pillow on the arm rest, wincing as he did so. After that was taken care of temporarily, Celty pulled over a chair from the dining table so she could sit by the older one to ask him a question.

[Do you want to tell us what happened?]

He seemed hesitant.

[It might help us, so we can know if there is anything else we need to do to help protect you both.]

He bit his lips and then sighed.

"Well, it may seem hard to believe…"

Shizuo scoffed at that. Celty turned to him and gave him a "look". She put a hand on her hip to hopefully get her meaning across. Understanding her meaning, Shizuo sighed.

"Go on."

[We have both seen many odd things around here. So, don't worry about that.]

He still seemed unsure.

[At least, the important part? Why were you being chased?]

He seemed to be contemplating answering this question as he scrunched his eyebrows, bit his lips, and stared off into space. After a moment though, he sighed again.

"Well…my brother and I have been a part of a project in a secret lab for a long time…"

"Project? What kind of project?" Shizuo questioned accusatorily.

The other took a breath as though bracing himself before continuing.

"The details…don't matter at the moment…" He said rather hurriedly, voice raising in pitch slightly.

"Like hell it doesn't!" Shizuo stood up angrily. Tsuki whimpered and leaned into his brother's side, face turned away and hidden against his brother.

"You were being chased because of whatever it is, so clearly it's important and very suspicious!"

The other seemed like he was about to say something else, although the panic in his eyes was starting to show. Celty quickly turned to Shizuo.

[Would you let him finish!? I know you are suspicious because they look like you, and I'm not saying there isn't anything going on, but at least give him a chance to speak! We don't know the whole situation after all.]

Shizuo paused to read her message, and huffed, but seemed like he felt bad about his outburst.

"Right." He grunted and slumped back in his seat again. He glared at the ground, but Celty knew he was still listening. Celty turned back to the other. His lips were pursed, and he seemed to be fiddling with something in his pocket.

[Please continue.]

He glanced up to read her text, and nodded, removing his hands from his pockets.

"Basically, we had been a part of this project for a long time. We rarely ever even left this lab. They were training us for…something. But, we were being forced to stay a part of this. Neither of us wanted a part of it anymore, so we escaped. But the lab heads were not happy about this, so they were trying to bring us back."

Celty considered this for a moment. There wasn't a lot to go on from the guy's vagueness. She got a very off feeling about the situation.

[Are you sure you can't tell us anything more? I don't really understand the situation from that.]

No response. Celty internally sighed.

[At least, do you know if they are still tracking you.]

"Um, I'm not sure actually. I know that their organization is highly connected, but I don't know how well they will be able to track us."

[What organization is that?]

Only silence from the other followed.

"Oh, why are you being so secretive!?"

He didn't respond to that either but winced from Shizuo's yelling.

"Celty, I know you are trying to help, but can we please just get to what we are both wondering here!?" Shizuo stood up and hunched forward intimidatingly to look directly at the other.

"Why do you both look like me? I know there is something going on here, and it probably involves me, so I sure as well want to know what it is!"

The other looked fearful. A whimpering came from beside him, drawing his attention immediately away from Shizuo. Tsuki was whimpering and starting to shake.

He turned to face the younger quickly and put his hand on the younger's shoulder.

"Tsuki? Tsuki! I need you to look at me, alright? Tsuki." During his panic, somehow Tsuki registered his brother enough to look at him.

"I need you to take deep breaths, alright? In and out, _slowly_." Delic started breathing in and out slowly to demonstrate. Tsuki seemed a bit panicked, but slowly followed the breathing techniques with Delic. The quiet was uncomfortable for the others as they listened to the two do the breathing exercises.

They took a few moments to do this, until Tsuki's shaking had mostly subsided.

"Try to calm down. Everything is going to be alright." He said slowly and calmly to Tsuki.

Shizuo's anger seemed to have toned down from the kid's freaking out. Shizuo unclenched his fists and took a step away from the pair to give the kid some space until he calmed down.

After the kid got his breathing under control, he looked at his companion with determination.

"Nii-san, I think we should tell them."

The brother gaped at Tsuki, clearly surprised.

"They saved us. And, I feel like we can trust them. I know normally you are asking me to trust you, and you are typically right I-I believe, but I feel like we should let them know what is really going on. They could help us. After all, our connection is important."

The brother still seemed surprised by Tsuki's words. They simply looked at each other for a few moments, seeming to have a silent conversation. The older one was clearly hesitant.

He bit the insider of his cheek, but then nodded. He sat up straight and faced Shizuo and Celty. Then he inhaled again, clearly preparing for something.

"You are right, Heiwajima-san. It is not a mere coincidence that my brother and I resemble you so much in appearance. However, the truth is going to be pretty hard to believe." He paused briefly, as though working up to how he would reveal what is going on.

"The truth is," He looked at Shizuo. "We are genetic copies of you. Also known as clones."

Nobody moved for a minute.

"WHAT!?" Shizuo exploded. His fingers were clenching and unclenching as though he was itching to grab something heavy to throw. His eyes were wide and wild. In fact, his whole facial expression seemed like an unclear mix of anger, confusion, and surprise.

The other's eyes were shut, having clearly anticipated a strong reaction. Tsuki took a hold of his brother's hand and squeezed for reassurance. He still seemed scared yet determined.

Celty certainly had many questions herself. She didn't even know how to begin to respond to what they just heard, and clearly Shizuo was feeling the same way.

"What do you-…how are you-…What!?" Shizuo practically growled out, clearly frustrated with his inability to form a question.

"Yes, it is exactly what I said, no joke. My name is Delic, and Tsuki here is my younger brother. I don't know all the details about it, but Tsuki and I have known we were clones our whole lives. Clones of you, Shizuo Heiwajima, before we even knew who you were. I don't know how they got your DNA to make clones of you. I wish I did know. We weren't told everything, just what they deemed we should know. And I figured some things out myself.

"The program was training us for fighting so we could be sold to groups like the yakuza or the military. Since we are clones, I suppose they thought they could get away with selling people,"

Delic said that last part a bit bitterly but then continued,

"You were likely picked as a subject because of your strength. They must have thought they could make a good profit selling fighters with your strength. Plus, they were likely too scared to attempt to coerce you to be a fighter for them. Having control of your clones though, since we were babies, helped them manipulate us so they wouldn't have to worry about us fighting against them. They could raise us to never want to leave, or to never even consider leaving if this was all that we knew. They have most of the power over us.

"We do not have the same strength as you however. That was harder to replicate apparently. As far as I know, Tsuki has come the closest to matching your strength. They tried other experiments on us to make us smarter or stronger, so we'd be better fighters, but that usually didn't work out." And with that, he took off his sunglasses to reveal his unusual magenta colored eyes.

"So, that's why we ran away. Neither of us wanted to be fighters. I had a plan to get us away, but they caught up to us faster than I anticipated with another clone named Ruby."

Both of them had so many questions for the proclaimed clones of Shizuo.

Part of Shizuo still did not believe it, but he wasn't sure. There were certainly things that seemed odd, so he was hearing them out first.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions still." Delic said somewhat awkwardly.

"Well that's an understatement," Shizuo barely grumbled, although he still seemed more shocked than anything.

Celty had many thoughts going through her head. One of them was that she was worried about how crazily excited Shinra might react to this situation. She had gathered the impression that the two had already had enough of being ogled at like science experiments. Hopefully she could convince him to look over Delic's arm first before he spouted anything too maniacal.

[What happened to your arm anyways?]

"Um…" Delic looked a little sheepish and cleared his throat.

"Well, at the hotel we were staying at, a clone named Ruby, who is like the lab's 'loyal dog', tracked us down and he over powered me. He twisted my arm behind my, bending it painfully in an unnatural direction to get me to cough up where Tsuki was."

[Maybe I should get you some ice for that while we wait. I expected Shinra to be back by now.]

"Yeah, that would be appreciated, thanks."

Celty scurried to the kitchen. Shizuo shifted awkwardly. There was an uncomfortable atmosphere to the room.

Part of Shizuo wanted to scream at them in disbelief, but his uncertainty kept him from doing so.

He could not explain it, but part of him felt like it was true. He did not know how, since he was still in a state of disbelief, but his instincts were usually pretty good. He'd felt a connection to the two the moment they met, stronger than with anyone else.

Celty came back with the ice. She placed it on Delic's elbow as gingerly as she could. Delic still winced but managed a small smile.

"Thanks, Courier."

Celty stiffened at that.

"What?"

"Why the hell did you call her that?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?" He asked, looking confused.

This whole situation was just plain weird. Celty was still for a moment, sharing an uncertain "look" with Shizuo, not sure what to think. The nickname was one she usually heard from a certain scheming client, but it's likely Delic could have come up with the name on his own.

Tsuki shifted uncomfortably on his seat and leaned on his brother again. Delic, with his good arm, patted Tsuki lightly on the head for comfort. Nobody seemed sure of what to do now.

"You can ask us more questions if you like. We both know how strange this situation is."

[Do you need any help?]

"What do you mean?"

[Like, do you need any help getting away from these people? We may not completely understand or know a lot about you, but we will help you if you are in any danger.]

Delic seemed surprised by this.

"That's- well…thank you for the offer. I'm not sure what you could do at this point."

[It would be better for you to stay hidden for now, right? At least, until we get an idea of where these people may be.]

"Perhaps…"

[Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves yet.]

Celty's phone buzzed. She read over a text and relayed the message to the others.

[I just got an update from Shinra, my doctor roommate. He is running late due to some unexpected traffic, but he is almost here. I let him know that there is someone here waiting to be treated by him, do he'll be expecting to help when he gets back.]

"Thank you, for helping us. You don't know how much that means to us both."

[Of course! I could tell you two needed the help]

"Hey, I don't suppose you would know anything about the two Celty saw the other day who looked like the Flea, hmm? Like, are they connected to you two?"

"…Flea?"

[Shizuo…]

"Er, I mean Izaya that is. Izaya Orihara."

To Celty's surprise, Delic's eyes widened at that. He shared a look with his brother before looking back at Shizuo and Celty.

"You saw two Izaya look-alikes in the same place?"

"Hang on, you know about them too? How are they connected?"

"Er, well, we don't know a lot about them, but yes we do know of them."

"Are they clones of Izaya?"

"…yes."

Shizuo cursed at that.

"They are a part of a different project though."

[What do you mean?]

"Well, like I said earlier, Tsuki and I were raised knowing we were clones, all of the clones of Shizuo are like that. It's part of a project known as Project Castor. The Project with the Izaya clones is technically from a different organization, but they are connected. Like, both organizations help each other. The other Project is known as Project Leda I believe. In project Leda, the clones are brought up in different families in different areas and grow up unaware that they are clones of another. The organization keeps track of them with people they call monitors."

Before Celty and Shizuo could ask any more questions about that topic, the door to the apartment could be heard opening.

"Celty~ I'm ho- "Shinra stopped midsentence when he saw everyone in the living room. He just stood there, looking surprised. His eyes widened when he saw Delic and Tsuki.

Confused, Celty looked over to see that Delic and Tsuki were now standing up and tense. They were both looking at Shinra with wide wary eyes.

 _What?_

Shinra glanced at the brothers, to Shizuo, to Celty, and back. After a moment he seemed to pale. There was an awkward stillness to the room. Although this time, there was more tension in the air, and fear. Shinra slowly took a step back, before turning on his heel and rushing out the door. He barely made it out of the apartment before Celty's shadows wrapped around him and dragged him back for an explanation.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I really did not think this update would take this long. I'm sorry, I've been busy with school and work. I will go over this to see if I need to edit anymore. Hopefully my next update won't take as long, but I'm not sure when it will be. Let me know what you think.**

Shinra was still struggling to get out of Celty's shadows as she pulled him over to where they were. He still looked panicked.

"What is going on here!?" Shizuo shouted.

Tsuki was standing slightly behind Delic, and Delic had reached back to hold his brother's wrist. They both looked like they were tensed to run away quickly.

There was too much confusion going on, and Celty just wanted to figure it out. She held a hand up to tell them to stay and then started her questioning.

[Have you seen him before?]

"Yes. We've seen him in the lab before wearing a white coat."

"WHAT!?"

"N-now Shizuo, calm down. I-it really isn't how it seems- "

[You knew there were clones of Shizuo!?]

"Well, um, yes but- "

[How could you be a part of something like that!? Shizuo is your friend!]

"Now hang on, you haven't let me- "

Shizuo let out an angry growl and stomped over to Shinra. Celty had to stop him from getting too close to Shinra, while trying to reign in her own anger. This was exhausting.

"Wait! Please! Just hear me out! Listen, you two didn't see me in the lab all the time, right?" He exclaimed, the question directed at the brothers.

"Well no."

"H-he wasn't one of the official scientists on the job. He was j-just there to observe, b-because of his father."

[So, his Dad was involved with the project.]

"Y-yes. Now please. I won't run away after you release me as long as I can be assured that I will be protected from Shizuo. I will explain, alright? I can assure you, that I'm not the bad guy here."

[Fine.]

After Celty released Shinra, he let out a sigh. It was still very tense in the room. Shinra shifted uncomfortably, clearly looking guilty. He pushed his glasses up.

"Yes, I was aware of the project going on with the clones of Shizuo. My father was the one who was more involved though. I had come in more recently to observe."

* * *

 _-About a year ago-_

" _Attention everyone. Pause your training for a moment. I have an announcement to make."_

 _All the other clones paused the training they were doing to give the doctor their proper attention. They all walked over to the doctor to hear him better, since they were all spread out in the large training area in the lab's facility. Most of them were around the same age as Delic and had the same face. Although they had different eye colors. They were all wearing light weight white clothes and were still sweating from the training. Some were bruised looking and sporting new injuries. Tsuki was panting rather hard and leaning on his brother, being the newest to the training since until recently he had been believed to not have the valued Shizuo strength._

" _This here is my son, Dr. Shinra Kishitani. He is not necessarily a new scientist for the project but will be mainly observing what it is you do and how we run this project. I figured it was fair since he's had minor involvement in the project so far. I'd be curious to see what it was all about if I were him, after all."_

 _Shinra had felt a bit awkward and strange being introduced to all these clones like this by his father. Ever since his father told him about the project, of course he'd been curious to see the clones. However, he had been hoping to observe quietly from the back. Even if he knew they were different, it was a bit nerve wracking to know that a bunch of Shizuo genetic copies will be aware of him observing them, since the real Shizuo would get upset with Shinra observing him._

[Wait, what minor involvement is he talking about?]

"I um…" Shinra moved a bit closer to Celty, clearly nervous about something as he kept glancing from her to Shizuo and back.

"I'm the one who gave them samples of his DNA, alright?"

Silence for a moment.

"YOU WHAT!?"

Celty immediately restrained Shizuo with her shadows, even though she probably understood wanting to hurt him.

[How could you do that to him!? What do you mean!?]

Unbeknownst to them, Delic and Tsuki were beginning to get very uncomfortable with the topic at hand. It was very clear that Shizuo was unhappy that there were genetic copies of him. Even though it was understandable, they felt very uncomfortable knowing that the other was mad about their existence. Just another bitter reminder that they weren't supposed to exist, at least to Delic. If he wasn't so uncertain about the situation with where Ruby and the others were now, he would have already taken off with Tsuki again. However, he thought it might be best to wait and see where this goes before they try to flee again. He couldn't say he wasn't curious to hear about this anyways. It was strange hearing about how one's own existence came into being though.

* * *

Shinra gulped.

"Well, soon after I had befriended Shizuo when we were young kids, I would come home going on and on about how amazing Shizuo's inhuman strength was. Little did I know that this got my father very interested. He had just started working for a project known as project castor, which had been searching for a good subject to clone. Apparently, my chattering about his amazing strength convinced my father that he would be a perfect subject to clone."

[Wait, so the idea of the project existed before they even knew about Shizuo?]

"Yeah. Apparently, the founders of the project here in Japan had stolen it from some researchers in Canada while they had been a part of their project. Shizuo was not the only one they tried to clone, but one of the only ones who it actually worked for."

[So, how did you get samples his DNA from him? Did you help them drug him!?]

"What? No! Of course not. Shizuo is still my friend. I would try to get samples by little stuff. Like hair, nail bits, skin, blood from when he was injured. They probably would have tried to get more by drugging him, but it's likely that wouldn't have worked. I actually don't know if they did that or not. I mean it's not like how it was with…uh, never mind."

Celty was about to question that, but Shinra continued.

"I just knew what they asked me to collect from him. When my father asked this of me, I had been so excited to be a part of an important scientific project at such a young age. Plus, I had been curious about his strength as well. However, as I've gotten older and become more aware of what they do as part of the project, my enthusiasm for it has wavered."

* * *

" _I'm surprised you even bothered with announcing him to us mere human lab rats, Dr. Kishitani. Aren't we just supposed to pretend like he's not here like all the time when you scientists are observing us? It's not like we get a say in it whether we know who it is or not." Delic jeered._

 _Shingen frowned at that and snapped his fingers._

" _Ruby." He said. All eyes turned to Ruby, knowing exactly what was going to happen._

 _Ruby grinned sadistically and cracked his knuckles. His knuckles were already covered in blood. He then headed over to Delic and punched him so hard in the cheek that he fell to the floor as he exclaimed in pain. Ruby didn't train as much as the other clones anymore and was used more as physical enforcement._

 _Tsuki gasped._

" _Nii-san!" Tsuki immediately kneeled by Delic and tried to see if he was okay. Shinra covered his open mouth with his hand, having not expected the sudden violence._

" _You are not supposed to run your mouth,_ Delic. _Don't forget what you are here."_

 _And with that, he directed the other clones to go back to their training, leaving Delic and Tsuki there on the floor._

* * *

"That was what got me to be less supportive of the project. Clones or not, that wasn't okay. And it wasn't the only time I saw them treated horribly that day. The trainers were extremely harsh to them, not letting up on them until they reached a certain level they were aiming for. There were multiple times I saw clones being punished not only for not being good enough, but for words or behavior they did not approve of. From what I saw, Delic got it the most from things he said."

The others were quiet for a moment after hearing that. Celty was only partially aware that she had dropped the shadows off of Shizuo. She and Shizuo both turned to look at Delic. Delic sighed and looked away. Tsuki reached for his brother's hand and squeezed it for comfort.

"So yes, I was a part of the project, but I won't help them anymore. I know I'm not the greatest person, but it just felt wrong seeing how they were treated. I mean, they are still people. I have no desire to help them, if that's what you are concerned about. I won't tell them where you are."

Delic barely reacted to that, but Tsuki nodded hesitantly.

"T-thank you." He said.

Shinra gave a small smile at that.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Shizuo asked, having been quiet for a while now.

[We have to help them hide out.]

"What was your plan anyways?" Shizuo asked.

Delic looked up again.

"Well, my original plan already got ruined kind of right away. But I was planning on having us hide out at hotels until I could find a way to get us to America."

[How were you going to do that?]

"I don't know, alright? I'm realizing now that even though I managed to get us out of the lab, my planning skills aren't the greatest."

"Isn't that kind of close to where the original project came from anyways?"

"Well yes. But it had to be America."

[Why is that?]

"That's where our parents are."

[What do you mean by that? Aren't you clones?]

"Yes, but the clones of Shizuo still needed to develop as a regular fetus. They needed surrogates. Our parents were living on the street when the project's organization found them. They needed someone to take care of the young clones during the early years anyways. Somehow, our parents convinced the scientists to allow them to raise us at their own home and not the lab, as long as they came in periodically with us to record data and perform some tests. We are also the only clones to share a surrogate mom. So, we actually are brothers. Tsuki was the only one in his generation of clones to make it, which is why he is the youngest. However, as we got older, our parents weren't allowed to see us as much. And even eventually, we were included in the group of clones to move to the part of the project in Japan. We haven't seen our parents since the move. I know they would help us hide from Castor if we get to them"

[Well right now, I think it's a good idea to stay hidden since there are so many unknowns with this situation.]

"I agree with that." Shinra added in. Then, since some of the tension had eased, he suddenly realized that Delic was injured.

"Oh my! Here, let me take a look at that." He walked over to Delic and examined his arm. Delic winced, but hesitantly let the doctor look at it.

"Hmm. Adding ice to it was a good choice to make, it seems to have helped with some of the swelling. Along with having his arm propped up. As expected of my beloved- "Shinra went to hug Celty when she shoved in his face,

[Don't you think now is not the time for that! Tend to him first]

Shinra sighed and gave a sheepish look.

"Right. How did you get this injury?"

Delic sighed.

"Ruby. At the hotel we were staying at, he twisted my arm behind my back and kept bending it back unnaturally since I wouldn't tell him where Tsuki was."

Shinra frowned slightly at that.

"Well, if Ruby is the one who did it, then your arm is probably broken. Here, come with me into this other room so I can give you an x-ray to be sure."

Delic seemed hesitant, but still followed the doctor into the other room for his x-ray. There was some awkward tension in the living room after they left. This whole situation was so weird.

Tsuki looked at the door they had gone through for a moment, biting his lip. He glanced over at the others in the room, feeling odd and out of place. He almost wished he could sink completely into the couch.

Shizuo was very torn on how he felt about all this. Clearly, he was mad that clones were made from his DNA without his consent, but he knew that it wasn't the brothers' fault. He was about to excuse himself for a smoke when his eyes landed on Tsuki again.

The kid clearly felt uncomfortable. He was looking down and fidgeting with his scarf. Granted, he was like 16 so he wasn't that young, but still. Shizuo had felt a soft spot for him from pretty much the moment they met. Protective, like a big brother. Shizuo was already a big brother, so he knew what that was like. This kid was connected to him in a way that Kasuka wasn't though. It was kind of nice to know he wasn't the only one who had that inhuman strength. Not really knowing why, Shizuo walked over to Tsuki. Celty came closer to them, not really knowing what Shizuo was thinking.

Tsuki looked up, seeming surprised and concerned. Shizuo knelt down so that he was at eye level with him.

"Uh, you okay kid?" He asked awkwardly with a cough.

Tsuki still seemed confused but nodded.

"Y-yes. Um, I t-think so."

They were quiet again. Tsuki started fidgeting again. Celty was perplexed too, not sure what Shizuo was trying to do, but it didn't seem bad at least.

"So, er," Shizuo stood up again, feeling annoyed with kneeling. He sat on the seat facing Tsuki.

"Your brother said you had strength kind of like mine?" His wording made it unclear on whether this was a statement or a question, but Tsuki nodded anyways.

"How, uh, how do you know that?" Shizuo asked.

Tsuki finally looked up, but had trouble maintaining eye contact. Not that Shizuo was much better.

"Well, b-because the scientists told me I-I guess."

Shizuo wasn't sure if that answered his question, which must have showed.

"W-what I mean is, the scientists have an idea of what your strength is and would test us each to see where we are in comparison to yours. One day, a little over a year ago they discovered I had it by accident. I accidentally broke some equipment when something scared me. After that, they tested my strength on different things and I was able to lift up more than all the other clones. "

"Wait, so you've only known about your strength for a year now?"

Tsuki nodded.

"Before that, my strength had seemed average. They assumed I didn't gain any of your super strength."

There had also been rumors that he might have been let go from the program if his strength hadn't been discovered.

But since they were rumors, Tsuki wasn't sure if he should share that.

"Huh, that's kinda weird. I was pretty young when I learned I had this strength."

"I don't really know why."

Shizuo felt for this kid, knowing what it was like to have strength like that as a kid. He must still be getting used to it, yet unlike with Shizuo, Tsuki had to train in this stupid program because of it. The thought made Shizuo grind his teeth.

"Did you still train like the others?"

Tsuki shook his head.

"No. We didn't really start the training until they discovered we have some level of your strength. We were created to be fighters, but the goal was for us to have your strength."

"Were there any others who didn't have inhuman strength?"

"I'm not sure actually. There were a lot of clones."

Shizuo clenched his fists and glanced away. What those bastards did to these guys was completely messed up. He was just a kid! If Shizuo had any idea where those assholes who were doing this were, he would punch all of their faces in.

He stood up abruptly, causing Tsuki to widen his eyes.

"I'm going out there for a smoke. I'll be back." He was mumbling angrily as he headed to the balcony. Tsuki looked distraught, not knowing what he did to upset him.

Celty immediately started typing on her phone, hoping to reassure him.

[Don't worry. I don't think he is upset with you.]

"Oh okay. T-then why did he seem so upset?"

[He was probably upset about what you were forced to do in that lab.]

"Oh."

Then the door to the other room burst open, startling Celty and Tsuki.

"Well, it's definitely broken. There are some fractures in his elbow from the strain Ruby put into bending his arm. I've put his arm in a splint for now."

Shinra announced as he came out of the room, Delic following behind with his arm in a splint like Shinra had said.

"Where's Shizuo?"

[He went onto the balcony for a smoke.]

"Ah, alright. Do you think he'll want to know about this?"

[I'm not sure.]

"Well, _I'm_ definitely not going to interrupt him when he's on his smoke break."

Delic sat on the couch next to Tsuki again, who was giving him a concerned look. Delic tried smiling.

"I'm alright Tsuki. I kind of expected this after our run in with Ruby."

"I just don't like seeing you hurt."

"I know, but I can handle it."

Tsuki tried to give him a side hug, but it was kind of awkward to avoid Delic's arm. Delic gave a small laugh.

"It's alright, Tsuki."

Shizuo came back in, a straight line on his face. His eyebrows furrowed slightly at seeing Shinra and Delic back.

"So, what's going on now?" Shizuo asked.

"Well, I don't think Delic should go anywhere with his injury, especially with others from Project Castor after them. I would suggest that Delic and Tsuki stay here for now. You can sleep on the couch. And there's even an extra room if Celty and I share."

Delic looked concerned.

"Um, I appreciate all that you've done for us, but- "

"You were nearly captured right away when you tried to stay at a hotel, and the jerk who broke your elbow has got to know you're hurt. You shouldn't be going anywhere."

Shizuo spoke up, surprising everyone.

Delic sighed.

"I know, but Shinra works for the project. They surely know where he lives."

"They shouldn't know about my opposition to the project. There should be no reason for them to come here. Besides, even if they do, we have my darling Celty to protect us! Even Shizuo can't get through her shadows."

"Shadows?"

"The black shadows that came from Celty earlier that pulled me back into the apartment and kept Shizuo from attacking me."

"Oh, that's what that was."

"Yeah. They are pretty much impenetrable. You would be safe here. We're not saying you have to stay here forever. Just while your injury is healing. We can help you come up with a plan for what to do next later."

"Why are you all helping us? You don't even know us. Plus, I'm sure you're not happy about there being clones of Shizuo he didn't know of."

[Because it's the right thing to do. We want to help you. What you've gone through isn't fair, and it's not your fault that Shizuo's DNA was taken. Plus, in a way, you are his family.]

"I suppose that's true." Delic relented.

"Shizuo will help too, I'm sure, right?" Shinra asked, turning to the former bartender. He grunted.

"Of course. They're connected to me. Might as well."

 _And it certainly wouldn't' hurt if I'm able to beat the crap out of those jerks who put us all in this messed up situation._


End file.
